Falling Leaves: The Rise of Naruto
by Umpy
Summary: Jiriya is dead and Kushina returns from exile to protect her son and Naruto joins forces with the eight-tails. With intense training and a new girl-friend he will grow into the true son of the 4th and face Pain in an epic tale of love,lust,war and hate.
1. Chapter 1 Tears Cry in the Past

**A/N **

-welcome to my first fan fic. I hope you all enjoy the ride.

-This fic will have mature content and themes. I really do not recommend anyone under the age of 16 read this.

That said I have only one request and that is for reviews. Any budding author wants reviews and more than just a -cool- or -you suck-. Please take the thirty seconds to leave a constructive review. Thank you.

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**Chapter 1**

**Tears cry in the past!**

"jiraiya-chan was killed in battle… jiraiya-chan was killed in battle… Jiraiya-chan was killed in battle…" Naruto awoke with a start, panting and gasping for air. The past two nights had been like this. The same nightmares over and over. That wrinkled old toad repeating those dreadful heart-wrenching words. Naruto didn't know what was worse. What the toad said to him or what he said to Granny-Tsunade. _"If he were the fifth he never would have made you go on that mission." _

He felt so guilty from saying that to her. At the time he had forgotten that the two were a step below lovers in their relationship. A relationship that spanned decades, wars, and countless battles. He was such a fool. He wouldn't apologize though. His anger and grief were tearing him apart. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat. All he could think about was the day and moment that he learned that his teacher, the man he considered a father. Jiraiya, the Sannin, one of the greatest shinobi on the planet was dead. Killed in battle by the leader of Akatsuki.

Naruto got out of bed and shuffled over to the ledge of his window and sat down. It was a peaceful night. His home, Konoha, was asleep. The stars were bright and the cloud few. Wandering the sky without a care in the world. Looking at them at that moment he understood what fascinated his friend Shikamaru about them. Clouds had no troubles. They just existed and floated above everything, admired and ignored.

Naruto used to do anything for attention, for recognition, but now he just wanted to escape and fall off the planet. As he sat there memories of his time with Ero-sennin ran through his mind.

**(flashback)**

"_YO! Naruto! I have something for you." Naruto paused in his Taijutsu training to look at his mentor coming down the path from the town they were staying in. Earlier that day Jiriya has showed Naruto this cool flip that could be turned into a defensive attack. Basically he was trying to flip in the air and position his legs to block punches and kicks and use the enemy's appendage to swing his body under with a kunai or even maybe a rasengan to get under his defense. It was very difficult and he had been working on the flip alone for the better part of six hours. _

"_Eh?" _Jiraiya_ exclaimed." You're still on the flip?! What have you been doing? Reading my manuscript? You should have that mastered by now kid!" Naruto fell into his typical challenging stance. Legs spread and pointed a finger at the perverted hermit. _

_"Reading your manuscript?! I'm not perverted like you I don't read that trash! And how am I supposed to get the flip when I don't have anyone to practice on huh?!"_

Jiraiya_ flared in anger and pointed at the brat. "Watch who you're talking to! My research is important! Those books feed us I will have you know! And why aren't you using a shadow clone as a target?"_

_ Naruto was about to come back with a sarcastic retort when _Jiraiya_ mentioned the shadow clone. Naruto just stood dumb-struck over have not thought of that. "Well why didn't tell me that in the first place? You're the one who always says I need to do things on my own!" His mentor just sighed and knelt down next to Naruto. _

"_Naruto. We have been traveling together for six months. I can't do the thinking for you. Your strong kid, but all the strength in the world doesn't keep you alive if you don't think about how to use that strength. You're as crafty as that fox in the heat of battle and come up with plans that are just plain astounding. But those plans usually involve a great deal of wasted time and Chakra to pull off. One of these days one of those clever ideas of yours won't work and you will get yourself killed." _Jiraiya_ reached out an poked Naruto in the chest, who was glaring at his mentor. "If an opponent is stronger than you Naruto, you have to be smarter than him, and honestly kid, the idea of using a shadow-clone as potential practice partner is pretty simple as much as you use the things."_

_ Naruto hated to be called simple and open his mouth to give the old wind-bag a piece of his mind. "But-"_

"_No buts!" Ero-sennin cut him off. "Tomorrow we are halting all physical training you are going to start to study some books on tactics and training._

_ Books…books…books... The words echoed in Naruto's mind like some dark horror descending on him. Study? Books? He could only say one thing in his absolute terror. "HELL NO!" He argued. **-BONK!-** _Jiraiya_ had Naruto in a headlock in an instant as was punching him on his head._

"_Tell me no will you? Just for that you don't get to go to the bath-house with me tonight! AHAHAHAHA!" Naruto pried himself out of the headlock feeling the lump on his head and glared at the old man._

"_Yeah right you just want to go peeping! Honestly how many hours do you need to peep on women a day?"_

"_Its not peeping I said! Its Research! But anyways here is your present." _Jiraiya_ pulled out a picture and handed it to Naruto._

_ Sweatdrop-"This is a picture of you with a girl on your lap sensei..."_

"_eh? Whoops! Ehehehehe." _Jiraiya_ laughed nervously. He snatched the picture out of Naruto's hands and gave him another._

_ Naruto look at it and felt a lump form in his throat. It was a picture of him and Ero-sennin about two months back, after they took out some bandits that were bothering a small village. _Jiraiya_ had his arm around him and Naruto had these pretty little twin girls he had saved in his lap hugging Naruto and laughing with these big bright smiles on their faces. Naruto didn't know what to say. He felt tears well up in his eyes and impulsively his hugged his mentor. _

_(end flashback)_

Naruto reached over to his nightstand and pulled out his photo album and flipped to that picture. A drop of water fell on this picture and Naruto reached up to wipe away the tears that had started. It was always this way at night. Another memory, another gift, another time of laughter that seemed so far away now. He felt lost.

Sitting up he threw on a baggy white tee-shirt and leapt out the window and down to the streets of Konoha. He wandered close to an hour before he realized where he was. He looked over the small bridge to the bathhouse where he first saw the Toad-hermit. The scene played back in his mind and he sighed. He sat down on the bridge and pushed all those thoughts down and pulled out the paper that Shikamaru gave to him. It was the last words of Jiraiya, put into some Bizarre code. Naruto had been trying to figure it out all day. Everyone said he was the only one who could. Even the code-breakers didn't have a clue and Tsunade just ground her teeth and punched down a wall after looking at the thing for an hour. So it was all up to Naruto.

He stared and stared at it, going over his memories for anything Jiraiya might have said. It was his last words they HAD to be important. He just stared and stared getting more and more frustrated. He heard a laugh and looked behind him to the bath-house to see three women coming out the door. Nani?! He thought. One of the women had to have some of the biggest breasts he had ever seen besides Granny-Tsunade.

His thoughts stopped right there, yet raced at the same time. Granny-Tsunade…breasts… Granny-Tsunade…breasts…Why did that trigger something in his mind? Then it clicked. He didn't know if he should shout for joy or slapped his forehead and curse the perverted hermit for being a pig. It all came back. It was the picture he looked at earlier that night that did it.

(flashback)

_ It was the following day that he received the picture and he was sitting on a bench with his mentor._

_ "Now Naruto. One of the most important things when you fight anyone is being able to size them up properly. You need to know the reach of their arms, legs and neck. How much they can twist how many steps they need to take to reach you. If they are limber, I mean agile enough to avoid certain taijutsu moves. Once you get that down I will teach you how to turn that knowledge into your strength. Now what do you see across from you?"_

_ Naruto looked over and sighed. He somehow knew where this was going to." A bathhouse…"_

_ "No. What are across from you are women. That the luscious blond that is coming out right now. How big do you think her breasts are?" BONK! "Owe! Naruto!"_

_ "If I've told you once vie told you a thousand times. I'm not a pervert who looks at women's breasts!" Naruto yelled. Many of the people stopped and stared. Women were nodding with approval at the young boy and shooting glares at the perverted hermit while crossing their arms over their chests and hurrying away. _

"_You brat! I will have you know this is the greatest way to learn this stuff! A woman's breasts are always a mystery cause of their bras. It changes everything just like shinobi clothes! If you can tell a woman's breasts size at a glance you can size up any opponent!" Naruto thought this over. He did have a point. He hadn't spent six months with the pervy sage without seeing his share of women and at least being a little intrigued. He didn't dare let _Jiraiya_-sama know that however or else all training would end and he would find himself in every bathhouse there could be with _Jiraiya_-sama throwing Naruto at any women he could. So he just nodded to the Sannin and said. "oh."_

Jiraiya_ nodded and got a serious look at his face. "Now take Tsunade for example. Those wonderful jugs are really something! How big do you think they are?"_

_ Naruto ground his teeth and almost leapt at his mentor but held back because well. Granny-Tsunade did have a rather big, erm chest. "I don't know."_

"_They are 106 cm. That Anko girl. She is 64 cm, but she hides it with a tight restricting bra. Designed by –" _

"_How do you know who designed her bras'?" Naruto stared suspiciously. _

_ The pervy sage grew uncomfortable at this point and evaded the question. "Cause I am the Great Toad Hermit and I am gifted with –"_

_ Naruto leapt up and pointed accusingly. "Yeah right! You peeked at her undressing you pervy old man! Wait till I tell her!"_

Jiraiya_ started to wave his hands franticly at Naruto trying to calm his down. "Eh Naruto lets just forget about that for a moment and I will give you Raman for a week! Besides breast sizes are great for hiding messages in a code"_

_ Naruto calmed down at this point. "Raman? ALL RIGHT!" He punched into the air._

_ Over the next month the hermit drilled into Naruto the various breast sizes of all the shinobi that Naruto knew including Sakura which earned the toad sage a close call with a Rasengan for even looking at his team-mate like that. After Naruto got down how to measure an opponent accurately _Jiraiya_ went into his own code style._

(end flashback)

Naruto grew excited as he studied the code in a new light. _'Yes there...and there_' he thought seeing some of the patterns. With a Fierce grin he ran off to the Hokage tower.

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Tsunade was sleeping at her desk. She rarely made it back to her room the past couple weeks since Akusuke had begun their advance. She to, was having a Nightmare about her beloved team mate and almost lover. It was a wonderful dream as well at it was about the night before he left for the mission and she had allowed him to kiss her for the first time. Even though she was drunk on sake.

She awoke with a start as a loud crash echoed in the hallway and she heard yelling from what could only be Naruto and two of her ANBU guards. She looked over at the clock. 4AM. A vein ticked by her eye and she clenched her fist at being awakened and marched into the hallway.

"NARUTOOOO!" Her yell silenced everyone and the guards looked at their Hokage in fear.

"We are sorry Hokage-sama. We tried to stop him but he insists on seeing you!" One of the guards with a wolf like mask said. Tsunade was about the lay into the brat and send him through a wall but Naruto's words stopped her cold.

"I broke the code!" He cried, waving a piece of paper in the air. She looked at him blankly and then turned to Shizune who had come out of her office bleary eyed to see what the ruckus was.

"Shizune. Get Kakashi, Ibiki, Yamoto, Sakura, Shikamaru and Anko in here right away! I don't care what they are doing get them here!" Tsunade used her evil eye to enforce the order and Shizune cringed away and nodded. "Hai Hokage-sama." She nodded to one of the ANBU and they took off at a run.

She led Naruto into her office and sent the other ANBU for some soldier pills to wake the people, that would be arriving, up and able to think correctly. Naruto was about to gush everything out but she held up her hand. "Save it for now Naruto wait till everyone is here so you don't have to repeat it several times. Naruto nodded and started pacing. It took about twenty minutes but everyone eventually arrived. Sakura was about to go ape-shit on Naruto for waking her up before Tsunade stopped her and looked at the group. "Naruto thinks he cracked the code. Everyone take your pills. I need everyone in top shape for this. It is important." Everyone started at this and quickly took the pills and perked up right away. "Go ahead Naruto." Tsunade said as everyone focused on him.

"Well as you all know Ero-Sennin was one pervy old man." Tsunade had to crack a smile at this. She did indeed know and it was good that Naruto was able to talk about him without going into a depression. "Well about six months into my training he started to teach me how to think better and a month after that he taught me his little code. I forgot about since we barely went over it. He wrote everything in this code and he didn't want me to know all his little secrets. It basically revolves around using measurements to assigned names and then using the letters of those names to form the message and using part of the number message to put the letters into the proper order. I don't know how to put them in the proper order, but I can give you the names and I guess the rest of you can figure it out. It's a start anyways."

Tsunade put rested her chin in her hand and nodded intrigued. "But what do you mean by measurements Naruto?"

Naruto grew hesitant at this point and tried to look away but somehow she saw his eyes float to her chest and she started to get a chill at what he meant. "Well. Ummm you see Granny-Tsunade." God how she loathed that name. "Your 106cm." Kakashi coughed hard and sank down a bit into his chair. Tsunade felt a vein pop in her temple and she clenched her fist about to knock the brat into the next life. "and Sakura is or was 31 cm before we left for training." Tsunade slowly stood up.

"Wait a minute Naruto." Sakura said. "but what is 31 cm?" She asked.

Naruto looked at his teammate closed his eyes and braced himself "Your breasts."

There was a silence as perfect as death in the room. Ibiki laughed. Naruto cracked open one eye just in time and had a moment to sigh. WHAM! Naruto had been beat up plenty of times. He had been punched by Tsunade, flung by Gara, had a mountain fall on him and a hole punched through his chest. But nothing. NOTHING prepared him for the force of Sakura's punch. If one could describe it was like having the world turned upside down and smashed on top of him like a hammer on a nail. He sailed through the wall, and the next, and the next till he was out in the skies of Konoha, slightly ahead of the loudest scream the city ever heard. "NARUTOOOOO!!' Lights turned on all over the city. ANBU mobilized and old ninja long retired started to prepared for what they thought was the second coming of the nine-tails. People feared for their lives at that scream. Naruto had one thought. 'Oh my god. I'm gonna die.'

It took a good fifteen minutes for ANBU to find Naruto stuck in a wall on the other side of the city and pull him out. They were kind and carried him back to the tower. Thankfully the kyuubi chakra had healed his worst injuries and he was still alive. When they brought him in Sakura started to wind up for another blow but Kakashi Ibiki and Anko restrained her. Naruto just cringed he started toward Tsunade to hide behind her till he saw that Shizune and Yamoto were holding her back as well. After all Naruto did just revealed her breast size to everyone in the room. Naruto thought seriously at that point about giving up on Hokage and fleeing the city as fast as he could. Fortunately everyone calmed down and was ready to hear the rest of the message.

"Naruto." Sakura said however. "You ever mention my breasts or even look at them again outside this meeting and I will kill you." Sakura said this in such a dead-pan voice that Naruto knew she was serious. He gulped. "Hai Sakura-chan." He nodded vigorously.

Tsunade told him to continue. "Well the 307 is Anko measurements all added up so –" Anko yelled out "Oh your dead for that!" And charged. Naruto did a replacement as fast as he could to escape. She looked around and saw him hiding behind Kakashi. Anko drew her Kunai and Kakashi tried to get out of the way only to be held in place as a shield by his student.

"Anko!" the Hokage said sharply. "We don't have time for this." Reluctently she put up her weapon and returned to her place; giving Naruto a look that promised she would address this later. Naruto just sighed still getting caught up in the pervy sages' antics.

"OK those are the only names I can get from the message. They include your family names as well. All I can tell you about the rest is that the other numbers are for letter placement and ordering. By the style of the message layout the letters change as well vertically. So by going vertically you would use the 9th letter in the name going backward rather than forwards and so on and so forth. I never really remember the rest but I'm sure using that formula the code-breakers can do the rest."

Tsunade looked over at Ibiki and Shikamaru, who had arrived before they brought Naruto back from the wall. "Well?"

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, rolling his eyes. "He is right. Using that we can get the rest done. It will take a couple days. But we will have it for you."

Tsunade turned her chair around and waved at everyone to leave. "Do it." Everyone started to file out. "Naruto you stay." Naruto hesitated not looking forward to this but sighed and moved back to his seat.

When everyone had left Onee-chan turned and looked at Naruto. For the second time since he had met her Naruto saw Granny-Tsunade crying. "Naruto… I miss him to." That was all she had to say. Naruto broke down. He fell to his knees and started sobbing. In a flash Tsunade was there hugging him fiercely. He couldn't feel it as the sobs wracked his body, but tears just as heavy as his fell down her cheeks and onto his shoulder. They were the people who were closest to Jiraiya to be called family. They were the ones to keep his memory alive.

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**A/N**

-Sorry for the short first chapters. This will be a little slow the first several chapters as I try to set up the mood and get things ready for the serious training and his change of outfits that will be comeing. (Yes I am sorry but I HAVE to make him look better than he does right now. I loath how the bad guys always have a cool look and the good guys are just so plain.)

I plan for this story to probably be around 200,000 words and over thirty chapters if I can get all I want done completed.

- I realize that the code will be very different from what will be revealed in the manga in a couple weeks. I am going to be leaving some Ideas open to incorperate what we will learn into later chapters. But when we comes to the plot line I will be taking this differently than the manga

I will warn you. Naruto will NOT be some huge powerhouse that can kill every single Akatsuki at once. I am still debating on him learning the Flying Thuder God. I am at odds with him becoming more like his father or going his own path. We shall see. I will be holding a vote for what the readers want.


	2. Chapter 2 The Message! My resolve!

**Chapter 2**

"**The message! My resolve!"**

Naruto had never slept this soundly before. It was like a comatose state. All the emotional turmoil and lack of sleep seemed to melt away after he spent the time with Onee-chan and he slept and slept. Not the best of things to be in this deep a sleep being a ninja, but all things considered, only having the better part of two hours sleep over the last couple days tends to add up. He didn't dream.

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Hyuuga Hinata. A name with more trappings than the strongest prison. More responsibility and expectations than most people will ever have to bear. She was thinking of these things as the servants were helping her dress in her Kimono for the day. 'I wonder what it would be like to give it all up' she thought. 'To just concentrate on training and my friends. Like Naruto-kun.' She blushed slightly as she thought of the confident blond haired boy. She thought that her feelings for the boy might have vanished in the time he was gone. She was wrong. Very wrong. If anything when she saw him again after three years they had deepened, and the more she thought about it, they scared her. She was frightened of many things, but the thought that she was in love with him rather than just a crush struck her to the core. She was a Hyuuga, heir to the house and certain expectations came with that. She couldn't be allowed to fall in love with a commoner.

"Hinata." She came out of her thoughts and turned to her father who stood in her doorway as the servants finished with her sash. "You look lovely my daughter." He stated simply. He had slowly changed after Naruto had beat Nejii in the chunnin exams. Slowly the family had stated to heal and mend their wounded hearts. She blushed slightly at the comment. "Thank you father."

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Hai." She responded. She wore a simple yet tasteful Kimono. A soft pink silk with white swirled patterns repeating over the shoulders in a 'V' towards her waist. The sash was a light orange but darker than the pink of the main robe. Imbedded with pearls and the symbol of her house in the center. God was it heavy. She always felt like such a fool in these things. She wasn't pretty or shapely like Sakura, so why try to show it. She tried to push those thoughts aside, but like always they resisted. Her father and sensei had spent three years trying to boost her confidence. It had indeed worked as far as her training, as there were dramatic improvements. Her father had reluctantly apologized for the way he had treated her, destroying what self esteem she had and from that moment forward treated her with a great deal more respect. That more than anything else helped her.

"Then let's go." Her father turned and left and she followed close behind. They left the house at the head of the procession towards the memorial. She was still stunned that Jiraiya-sama, one of the great Sannin was dead, defeated no less. She worried for Naruto. He always clung fiercely to his friends and bonds. The loss of his teacher must be bad for him.

They arrived at the memorial. There were many Shinobi from several countries there. There must be close to a thousand people she thought. Ninja and Lords were abound, taking their seats or standing where they could all in black. Except of course the Hyuuga. They were different. When someone great fell in battle they honored it with bright colors for honor rather than dark for death. She had to admit this lifted her heart a bit. She looked around trying to spot Naruto. His bright blond spiky hair shouldn't be hard to find, but she couldn't spot him anywhere. She bit her lip nervously and turned to her father. "Father. May I go speak to the Hokage-sama?" He turned to her and frowned with disapproval.

"The Hokage is very busy and filled with grief at this moment. It would not be proper."

She swallowed the lump and challenged him slightly. "Please father. It is important." He looked into her eye and she tried her best to show determination. Finally he nodded. "Make it quick, and remember to offer your condolences. The Hokage was his team-mate once and close friend."

She nodded and rose approaching the line in front of the Hokage she stood with a calm and serene determination. 'How does she do it?' Hinata thought. 'I couldn't stand there in front of all those people if Kiba or Shino died.' Gradually she reached the Hokage who seemed surprised to see her.

"Hinata! Thank you for coming." Hinata blushed slightly but found her voice.

"Hokage-sama. W-Where is Naruto. I- I don't see him here."

Tsunade frowned as she considered the question. _'Yes. Where is he? He more than anyone, should be here.'_ She thought and looked around trying to find his chakra signature and couldn't. She sighed. "I think Hinata that he might not be coming. This is very hard for him. He has never lost anyone this close to him before." Hinata looked down and nodded, turning to leave. "Hinata." Tsunade said. "While he might not be here, he might need some comfort." She smiled inward with a little bit of girlish glee. She knew the young Hyuuga felt deeply for Naruto. Maybe this was a good time to throw the two together. Naruto needed it, even if he didn't know.

Hinata looked stupefied at the thought. "Why don't you go to him Hinata? I will explain to your father that I asked you to do this. Do not worry."

Hinata turned a rosy red and stammered. "But-But-"

"No 'Buts' Hinata. He needs you right now. Go to him. He is either in his home or on top of the 4th's face. Now off you go."

The Hokage turned from the young girl as she creped off. Hinata slipped out of the memorial and headed to Naruto's home, her thoughts racing. '_He needs me she said. But what can I do? What can I say?'_ These thoughts kept tumbling over and over in her head and she came to his door. _'I can do this. I can do this.' _She kept thinking. She stood outside his door for almost ten minute before nervously knocking very softly. No answer. She braced herself and knocked a little louder. Still no answer. She was about to turn away when she heard a slight snore from the apartment. She hesitated and brought out her blood-line. Yes he was there sleeping on the bed. She was breathing very rapidly now. How could she be thinking of doing this? It isn't proper at all. He will hate me. I can't do this. In all this thinking she didn't notice that Naruto had woken up to the knocking and started to head to the door. When he opened it up, yanking the knob from her hands Her mind and heart stopped. She could do nothing but stare at his bare chest. A deep flush rose to her face. She looked like a pretty little cheery in her embarrassment.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" He asked. Hinata's mouth just opened and closed rapidly as she tried to get her thoughts in order. Next thing she knew it went black and she feinted. Naruto caught her as she fell down and looked at her in puzzlement and worry. _'She always does this' _he thought. Maybe she is sick? He was about to take her to the hospital but something stopped him. He didn't know why but he lifted her up and carried her to his bed. His room was never a mess anymore. Jiraiya had drilled into him the importance of keeping a clean place. He looked down at the passed out kunoichi and was about to turn to get some water for her when he noticed what she was wearing. His breath caught as his eyes wandered. 'She is … beautiful.' he thought as he stared. He had always seen her in her heavy coat on missions and around town. He never thought about her like this and it disturbed him for some reason. He tore his eyes away from her bare shoulder and went to the sink and poured her a glass of water. He set it by the nightstand, pulled out a chair and looked out the window waiting for her to wake up. In the distance he could see the memorial service going on. Even after three days he found it impossible not to cry. He was getting better though. Shikamaru and Iruka helped with that. Jiraiya's memory and teachings lived with him now. He would die a thousand deaths to honor them.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked over to see that Hinata was awake up and looking at him with sympathy. "I-I-I'm sorry I passed out." She looked down poking her fingers together in that oh so familiar gesture that Naruto just now found, oddly enough, to be very cute. She seems so different when not on a mission he thought. When searching for Itachi she was confident and ready for battle, but back in the village she seemed almost her old self from before he left for several years. He wondered which one was the real her. He really didn't know which one he preferred.

He gave her one of, in his opinion, award winning grins. "It's ok Hinata-chan! You never have to say you're sorry to me!" She looked up from her embarrassment to see his smile. She always loved that smile. It gave her such strength. She smiled back and sat up straighter. "Thank you!" she said with sincerity.

"So what's up Hinata? Why did you stop by?" Naruto moved the chair by the bed and handed her the glass of water. She seemed to blush slightly and thankfully took a sip of the water.

"The Hokage-sama was wondering why you were not at the memorial and asked me to make sure you were ok." She looked at him carefully. Naruto saw such concern and sympathy in her eyes that he turned his head quickly so she wouldn't see the tear that started to fall.

"They are all fools!" She flinched at the fierceness in his voice. "They didn't know him; they all just want to say that they paid respects to his death and honored him. But this whole big memorial is just a piece of shit! He wouldn't want this and Granny-Tsunade knows that. I am going to have my own memorial tonight when everyone is gone. I'm gonna honor him the way he wanted. He cared about everyone in this village, and there are some people that need to know some things. I plan to tell them."

He looked back and stared into her eyes. She started to reach up to wipe the tears that wouldn't stop falling but just couldn't bring herself to that kind of Intimacy.

"I-I…" She took a deep breath. He was her Naruto-kun, he needed her, the Hokage said, she wouldn't let him down. "I didn't know him, but I wish I did. Would…Would you mind to tell me about him? What he was like?"

Naruto felt something swell in his heart that he hadn't felt since when he and Sasuke finally became best of friends. He missed it. She somehow made all the grief melt away with those worlds and he grew so excited that he jumped at the chance to tell her. Hinata was startled for a second but scooted over as Naruto almost leapt onto the bed next to her and began his story of the Sannin Jiraiya. She listened for hours. Smiled at the right times and laughed a great deal. The fact that she was on a bed with Naruto never crossed her mind. She just felt happy that she was helping Naruto by doing what she always did best. Not saying a thing and listening…

The next day Naruto woke up and headed straight to granny-Tsunade. He was excited and was happy and eager for the new day. The grief was still there, but Hinata helped him to finally get over that last hurdle. She just sat and listened as he poured out everything he knew about that perverted but lovable old man. They talked well into the night till he went to the private night memorial for Jiraiya. It was a solemn event and he and Tsunade got out some sake for the few others that were there. Kakashi, Gai, Some old monk from some temple, Granny-Tsunade, Sakura (He didn't know why she was there, but he was very pleased that she came.) And a chair that had a picture of the third on it. Tsunade smiled and kissed him on the forehead when he did that. They just sat around a fire and everyone told their stories of him, not surprisingly most of them dealt with him and his perverted ways. They all got drunk, Granny-Tsunade over looked Naruto and Sakura drinking just that once and they had a grand time.

Naruto just smiled as he recalled the night and he walked into the Hokage's office. He was the last to arrive. Shikamaru, Kakashi, Sakura and Shizune were already there.

"You're late!" The old lady glared at him. "We have been waiting for almost an hour!"

"You have not! You just sent me the message fifteen minutes ago! You're getting senile in that old age of yours!" WHAM! She punched her desk and leaned over that scary look with her vein popping and her one eye going wide with the tilted head.

"You little brat! I am the Hokage and you will watch what you say to me! Call me old one more time! Just do it!"

Naruto just smirked walked right up to her face and opened his mouth. Kakashi cringed waiting to hear Naruto crash through what was probably the hundredth door. When he didn't hear anything though he looked up and saw Naruto planting a soft kiss on the Hokage's cheek. "Thank you." He said simply.

Tsunade had rarely been truly speechless in many years and she couldn't recall blushing since well … since her old love died all those year ago, but that damn brat always seemed to get one up on her. Her anger, mostly feigned, melted away and she blushed looking away.

"Well... just – just so you remember I am not old!"

Kakashi just shook his head and looked with respect to Naruto. 'Naruto you really will be Hokage one day.' He thought.

Shikamaru spoke up at this point. "Can we get on with this?" Tsunade nodded and they all moved to sit in the chairs in front of her desk.

"Proceed." She said.

"Ok." Shikamaru began. "We haven't finished the entire message yet that actually may take up to a week. This code is much more difficult than any of us had thought. He shouldn't have made it this hard considering the source of the messenger, so I can only assume he was on his last dying breath and only had a few seconds to write the message and used the only type of code he can think of. We have however managed to make out two words, but no one knows what they mean. "Pain and Rin'negan."

Tsunade gasped and stood up quickly. "Impossible!" Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"Well who the hell is Rin'negan?" Naruto asked. "Is he the guy who killed Ero-sennin?"

"Not who Naruto, but what." Tsunade stated. She took a deep breath and stared out the window for a moment. "The Rin'negan is supposed to be a myth. A legend that dates back over four hundred years, when shinobi where first created." Everyone focused hard on her words. "The origin of ninjutsu is traced back to one man, more of a god really. His name was the Rikudou. The Sage of the six paths. It was said that he developed the use of chakra into Ninjutsu and Taijutsu and Genjutsu. And he did this through the use of his eyes. The most powerful Dojutsu of the three great eye techniques. The Rin'negan. Not much is known of the abilities except that he could use and had an affinity for all six chakra elements."

"Six?" Naruto butted in. "I thought there were five. Earth ,wind, fire, water and lightning."

Everyone just looked at him like he was dumb. "How can you be such a strong ninja Naruto and not know the basics they taught us back in the academy?" Sakura glared. Naruto kinda just looked away and huffed.

Kakashi stepped in at this point. "Basically Naruto you are right, but there is a sixth. While not an element technically as every ninja can use it, it is called Space/Time. It's what is used for summons, Replacement jutsu and various other high level jutsu. It is considered the strongest of them all when the 4th created the Flying Thunder God technique that single handedly defeated an entire army and won the war with Earth Country. "

"Right." Tsunade took things back over before Naruto could continue with his never ending questions. _'Honestly Jiraiya.'_ She thought_ 'What did you teach this kid during all those years?'_ "If the legends are true then being able to use and combine all six elements means he could use powerful forbidden jutsu that can not be stopped dodged or stood up against. It was how The Rikudou dominated enough to form the first ninja clan. There is more however."

Everyone was already in awe at the thought of someone who could not only use but combine all six elements. "It is said they were a tool of the gods that could bring about eternal peace or utter destruction. If any of this is true and whoever killed Jiraiya has the Rin'negan, then defeating him is our first priority."

"Aren't you forgetting something Tsunade?" Kakashi spoke up and looked at her with the most serious face Naruto had ever seen. She glared right back at him. "The Rikudou was said to be able to call back the souls of the dead and fight with them." Everyone just looked at each other silently. Naruto in one of his few but keen insights spoke up at this outrage.

"Do you mean he can bring back Jiraiya and have Ero-sennin fight against us?!" he exclaimed.

"No." Granny Tsunade said. "This is all based on myth and legend. There is no proof about either of this."

"I disagree" Shikamaru broke into the discussion. "All legends are based on some fact. While it is true that there is no proof and probably has been distorted a great deal, we must proceed with the worst possible scenario in mind. If he can use all elements and he can bring Jiraiya-ama, back from the dead then he would have a weapon that maybe even you can not defeat Hokage-sama. What is worse is that we must go on the belief that he will have all of the Sannin's knowledge of Konoha and it's ninjas as well. We should recall all our groups back and reorganize. Otherwise they will be out there at an extreme disadvantage against the strongest shinobi there are."

Everyone bowed their head trying to find someway to disagree with Shikamaru and his logic, but failed. Tsunade looked to Shizune. "Make it so. Also decline and turn down all S-rank missions that move into other countries. From this point on our number one goal is Akatsuki and This mysterious leader that killed Jiraiya. Begin to prepare. Train, study. Do whatever it takes, but be ready. You are all dismissed."

Everyone filled out. Naruto, greatly disturbed at the idea of possible having to face his mentor in battle and eager to take the fight to his killer, went to his favorite thinking spot. The face of the 4th.

_'This guy killed Jiraiya. How can we stop him? Ero-sennin was no joke. He was seriously strong._' Naruto thought. He once again looked back through his memories till he found what he was looking for. They had just helped a group of orphans beat off some slave traders and build up their orphanage again. They were walking on to the next town.

**(flashback)**

_"Hey Ero-sennin. I have a question." Naruto moved up from behind the hermit. _Jiraiya_ as always ground his teeth at that name._

_"Fire away kid." _

_"Well I was thinking. Why do people do stuff like that? Why do people kill and try to hurt kids? They are defenseless! They aren't trained like we are? Shouldn't those guys have helped the kids instead?"_

Jiraiya_ paused and looked at Naruto. 'I better handle this answer right' The Sannin thought. It just might be my most important lesson to him.' He motioned for Naruto to sit down on a rock and sat next to him._

_"Listen to me closely very closely Naruto." The teen put on his serious face and stared hard into the old man's eyes._

"_The measure of a Shinobi is how he dies, but what is the measure of a man? Is it is work? Is it is knowledge? What makes a man a man? Some people think it is also how he dies. Great ninja always want for a death that is meaningful. While this is part of the answer it is only a small part. It is quite simply thus. The measure of a man is not how he dies, but how he lives. The everyday choices mold the path we take in our life. The choice between indifference and empathy, Ignorance and enlightenment, courage and fear. The easy path is rarely the right path. You will find the longer you live that the hard choices, the right choices, require self-sacrifice and hard work and yes sometimes sorrow loss and pain. But that Naruto is when a man's measure is tested. When that choice comes up to allow evil if it keeps you safe, or to fight the fight that needs fought. If you can make the right choice and endure through all the hardship that follows, then Naruto you will be a man and a true Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." _Jiraiya_ looked back at the village in the distance. "Those slavers made the wrong choice and their measure was tested and failed. They took the easy way and were indifferent to the suffering of others. That is why they did what they did Naruto."_

_Naruto just stared at his mentor and didn't speak for the rest of the day and night. He fell asleep finally, thinking about one thing. "Then what about Sasuke? Has he been tested and failed? Or is he being tested as we speak?"_

**(end flashback)**

Naruto stood up slowly. He knew this feeling. Every time he fought. Every time he met some bastard that thought they could hurt the innocent or his friends, he felt it. Every time some villager said he was a monster, it protected him. And every time he was about to fail it gave him the strength to push through. The Will of Fire. The Legacy of Konoha. It never burned brighter in him as it did right then. Slowly Naruto's fists clenched and his eyes seemed to glow from the strength of his spirit, not the red of the demon-fox, but a vibrant blue. 'So this Rin'negan is strong?' Naruto thought. 'Then all I need to do is surpass Jiraiya. I am his legacy. I WILL not fail.' He summoned the greatest chakra he could into his feet and leapt off the mountain. Soaring through the air at incredible speeds towards the only person he knew could help him.

Kakashi was at the memorial stone looking at the names of his loved ones when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see a Naruto he feared to never see again. A resolve in his eyes that he knew all too well. A resolve that gave strength to others and the power to change hearts.

"Train me." Naruto said. "I will test the measure of this so called 'Pain'." Kakashi looked at him for a few moments. Naruto did not blink. He gave a slight smile behind his mask.

"Let's begin."

* * *

**A/N**

Yes Hinata and Naruto will be getting together. He will need someone closer than a good friend in the times to come and she is perfect for it.  
Get ready to see a glimpse of some of his training and skills in Chapter 3  
- About the Rin'negan. I know all we know so far is that Pain has six bodies that can each use one or two types of abilities and that it is one entity in six bodies, but if the Rikudou created ninjitsu then he had to be able to use all types of Chakra to their maximum extent and this would need a real affinity for all types.

-There is a difference in being able to use multiple types of chakra and having an affinity for them. The ability to combine two types into a new element is called Kekkei Genkei. If the Rin'Negan can combine all types of Chakra then it is the only way to make them the most powerful eyes to surpass the Sharinigan at least in my opinion


	3. Chapter 3 Training Your Heart

**Chapter 3**

**Training your Heart!**

Naruto stood in the training area that he had learned the Futon-Rasen-Shuriken. Yamamoto had used his earth Just to fix the craters that had been formed as Naruto practiced back then. Kakashi took in front of him along with Sakura. "Kakashi! MY rival! I have arrived!" Naruto looked behind him to see the taijutsu master hauling a large wagon. Naruto couldn't see what was in the wagon at this distance so just waved and turned back to his teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei. I am ready. Train me." Naruto looked eagerly to the masked man. Kakashi looked up from the book he was reading and looked lazily at Naruto.

"No your not." He sighed. "There is one thing you have to do before we begin the work."

Naruto looked at his sensei in confusion. "What is that? I've never been more ready!"

"You have to Study." Kakashi smiled maliciously.

'study… study… study… study… study…' the words echoed down through Naruto's slow mind.

"Jiriya-sensei already had me study! I am fine! I am ready to-"

"Oh really Naruto?" Sakura broke in with one of her smirks and sarcastic remarks. "if that's true then why didn't you know there were elemental chakra types? And why didn't you know what they were and how many there are? Can you tell us how seals work? Why using one just consumes more chakra than another?" She got up in his face and he cringed back. "Your education is sorely lacking Naruto! It is timed you became a smart and not just a crafty shinobi!"

Naruto mulled this over in his head. Kakashi had never steered him wrong so what could it hurt. He agreed to study as Gai finally arrived sweating and panting from hauling the cart. "My springtime youth is sorely taxed by this my great rival! But I have persevered and overcome and am stronger than ever because of it!" He stood up and gave the group thumbs up. They all winced as the sun reflected off those damnable teeth.

"You know Gai." Kakashi spoke up without looking up from his book. "You could have used the mules next to the wagon to bring the books." Gai's face fell and he stared at his rival.

"I hate you."

Naruto and Sakura just snickered at the bickering, but finally Naruto got control of him self and spoke to Kakashi. "So what am I going to study first sensei?"

"Everything." The masked man stood up and ignored Naruto's dropped jaw and disbelief. "have you forgotten the training method we were using already? With that you can go through our entire library ten times over in three days."

"one day!"

"THREE!" Kakashi said sharply. "I want everything in that cart memorized ten times over. Once you do that, the more advanced training we are going to give you will go smoothly and faster."

Naruto just looked at him blankly. "Well Naruto? What are you waiting for? There are two hundred books in that cart. Make 400 clones, pair them up and have them go over each of the books. Do this until each pair finishes the book. That should take around six hours. We will then work on some taijutsu for four hours. And repeat it the next day. Any questions ask Sakura myself or send a clone to the Hokage or Shikamaru. Yamamoto here can answer any questions you have as well. Begin."

Naruto nodded and placed his hands together. "Kage Bushin No just!" Instantly several clones appears and they all made their own clones and began to take the books off the wagon and spread out along the grass and began to read. The real Naruto turned to his sensei and looked him dead in the eye.

"While they are doing that why don't we just start on the taijutsu now? I still have plenty of chakra to do that without dispelling the clones." Kakashi looked at the young man and shrugged.

"I have things to do while you are doing that so Gai will take care of that if that is what you want. Don't overwork yourself though. Just learn the forms he will be teaching you. Id wouldn't do if you got knocked out and dispelled the clones undoing most of your work. Don't wait for that knowledge half way. Make sure they all learn it before incorporating them into your mind. Otherwise it will be a wasted effort."

Naruto nodded but couldn't help to think that Kakashi just wanted to read those damn books. An evil glint in his eye appeared as he turned back to his sensei. "You know Kakashi sensei; I have the unfinished manuscript that Jiriya was working on." Kakashi froze in the middle of a teleportation just. An excited gleam lit his uncovered eye and he rubbed his hands together anxiously. "Really Naruto? You-You wouldn't happen to be willing to part with it would you?"

Naruto grinned maliciously at the up and coming pervert. "Well that depends sensei! On if you think you can handle what has already been written. Granny-Tsunade herself couldn't, she said it got her too, shall we say flustered."

Kakashi could barely contain the drool coming out of his mouth at that thought. 'If Tsunade who dealt with Jiriya's antics all her life found the book that good it must be the best one YET!' Kakashi did something he never thought he would ever do. Everyone including his rival just stood dumbstruck and every clone's jaws dropped. Kakashi was on his knees bowing before his student. "Oh great Naruto, future Hokage! I bow to you in supplication! Please allow your humble servant the honor of relieving you of the manuscript! I will give up my life for it!"

Naruto couldn't help but start to laugh. Sakura just wanted to punch her degenerate former teacher as hard as she could. Naruto gave in and told his sensei, an act of mercy he couldn't help but think. "Sure thin Kakashi sensei1 It's in my room under the –" he never go another word out. Naruto and Gai had seen the fastest Ninjas in the world, fought against them, trained with them and Gai himself was blindingly fast. But no one NO ONE had ever seen the speed that Kakashi showed at that moment. It was the next best think to the Flying Thunder God just the 4th was famous for. One second Kakashi was there, the next they saw a cloud of just already halfway into the Village. "Oh my god." Was the only thing Gai could say.

The rest just laughed put it out of their mind and turned to the purpose of Naruto's training. The rest of the day went by fast. The clones were getting more and more into the reading and bombarded the group with question and question. When one got stuck on a point, Sakura would calmly explain it as simple as she could, as she knew how best to reach the gennin's mind.

And thus it went. Gai showed Naruto several powerful taijutsu forms that relied on precision rather than strength and speed. And while he was practicing the kata His clones studied and studied some more. At the end of the day Kakashi would ruthlessly question Naruto, hounding on Naruto's drive to be better than Sasuke to push him into giving it his all with the books and learning what they contained. It was the end of the third day and he was almost finished working on the new kata that Gai had showed him when he felt someone watching him. He was done with the reading and knew just about everything in those books verbatim, well enough anyways that he found many of the things he knew instinctively could be applied to other things. With the new knowledge of how various just worked and how one could manipulate chakra in different ways for different affects his mind raced with possibilities and ideas. He did have to say that this clone training was absolutely magnificent.

He finished the Kata and looked back and started in surprise. Hinata was there in a training outfit watching him. "Hinata-chan!" He found himself very pleased that she was here. Since the night she helped him past his grief he had a particular warm spot in his heart for the shy Hyuuga. He didn't understand it, but he found himself thinking of her at night before he went to sleep. Her eyes, the bare shoulder he glimpsed, her pretty face. It gave him butterflies, but being as dense as he was he didn't really know why she gave him these feelings. "What are you doing here Hinata-chan?" He smiled and walked up to her. The girl blushed at the 'chan' reference and poked her fingers together looking down.

"The Hokage wanted me to come down and see how your training has been going. She-She asked me to spar with you and tell her how well your doing." Hinata was terrified of training with the boy, she never had before. She would give it her all with Nejii and her father, but Naruto was different. Most of all she was scared that he wouldn't think she was worthy of training with him. His approval meant a great deal to her.

Naruto looked at her blankly for a moment. "Me? Train with you?" Hinata was crushed she quickly tried to fight back the tears that were about to overwhelm her eyes. "I'm not sure I am ready for that. You much stronger than I am! If you think you could help me though, wow that would be great!" Hinata stood once again dumbstruck. 'Naruto thinks I am stronger than him? I –could help him?' She never loved the boy as much as she did at that moment. If she could have gathered the courage she would have kissed him right then and there! Few things ever gave her more strength that Naruto's good opinion of her.

"Hai! But you're wrong, I'm not as strong as you, but I will give you my all!" She smiled and took up a battle stance. Naruto really didn't think what she said was true so he just smiled and got in his own stance. It looked off to the girl. It was on his toes one leg balanced carefully in front of the other and slightly crouched. His hands were in front of him, one high and one low with palms open and facing her. She activated her bloodline and could tell instantly that it was a powerful form. It allowed him great flexibility and versatility in his strikes and defense. She noticed however that it seemed weakest against low attacks and kicks. She took a deep breath and readied herself.

Naruto was relaxed when ready for anything. This taijutsu form was the one Jiriya had taught him. It was called The Path of the Eight moons. It was powerful due to it versatility in both offense and defense. The stances gave him many different alternatives to strike and block depending on what he was facing. He had no mastered it yet, but Jiriya told him the more he learned and mastered other forms of Taijutsu the stronger The path would become. He already started to see what his dead teacher was talking about from his training with Gai. You could take the best of all worlds with the Path and use them in a fluid motion. He didn't have much time to think about this as Hinata moved quickly to his right and slide along the ground with a sleep kick, her arm coming up high as she expected him to jump over it so she could use her bloodline to numb his leg. Instead he shifted quickly further to the right and stopped her slide with his foot and slapped down at her hand that was moving in on his lower calf. This put Hinata as a bad disadvantage from being on the ground with no momentum. Naruto shifted right again and leaned his body back while bringing his foot forward to kick the side of her ribs. Instead she stopped the blow with her palm and used her chakra to push him away from her. Since he was already leaning back the force of the push allowed him to easily flip through the air and land on his feet. While in the air he drew three shuriken and flung them at her when he landed then charged behind them.

By this time Hinata was on her feet again. She waited till the shuriken and Naruto where close to her and used her Heavenly skin technique. Naruto was barely able to avoid running into what would have certainly ended the fight quickly. He made a clone and prepped a Rasengan to break through the motion shield when she glimpsed movement from his right. Hinata came in quickly and scored two quick hits with her Jyuuken style stopping all chakra in his arm dispelling the rasengan blowing Naruto to the side. 'How did she get there? She should have been inside the heavenly spin still?' he rolled along the ground wincing in pain and worried about his arm. Without being able to use rasengan in his main hand it would be a problem. His clone bought him the time he needed to steady himself and was ready for the girl as she came in. He couldn't help but admire the girl as she charged in. 'Is this the same Hinata? She is amazing!' He thought. He smiled and charged right back. They met in a flurry of blows. He winced though after about 10 seconds as he could tell she scored several more hits on his chakra points. 'This isn't the way to fight her; she will win If I meet her with a fist style.'

Hinata was glowing. She was standing up to Naruto and winning! All her training the past three years seemed to click in. 'I can do this she thought.' She was about to deliver a finishing blow to his stomach when he suddenly jumped up and blocked the strike with his shin. His legs wrapped around her arm and he pulled himself down and around his body rotating under her arm. His weight had her off balance and she couldn't see his blow incoming due to her own arm being in the way of her blood-line vision. She suddenly felt something sharp at her abdomen and looked down. Naruto still had her other arm locked in his legs while he was holding himself up with his right arm. In his left hand he had a Kunai pointed at her stomach. "I win!" Naruto said. He let go of her arm and flipped to his feet. She stood there with an amazed expression. "Naruto-kun! That move was amazing!" He rubbed the back of his head nervously and gave her a weak grin. Thanks Hinata-chan, I worked on it a lot when training with Jiriya-sensei, you wouldn't believe some of the things he taught me! But how did you attack me like that during your heavenly spin?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata gathered her breath from the fast, but furious sparing match. She was excited to tell him of her new move. "That's because I wasn't in the heavenly spin. It had ended and you just saw the visual and chakra residues of it dissipating. You see the Heavenly Spin generates so much rotation, wind and chakra that it creates a shell all on its own. What I did was use the rotation and force I generated, shifted my center of gravity and let the shell fling me outside its movements, and then I can attack the enemy while they are distracted by the spin dissipating." She said all this in a rush. Naruto was very thankful at that point for Kakashi having made him memorize all those books on Ninjutsu and tactics. Without them he would have been lost, but he understood the concept completely.

"But Hinata, If that flings you out that fast wont you be flung far away? You were pretty far away and that's why you only got my arm instead of winning the fight."

"I haven't mastered it yet." She replied. "The idea is when I leave the rotational field to apply a strong burst of chakra to my feet and bounce back quickly, hurling myself at the enemy. If I can do that the force I can hit them with will be much greater than even being hit by my Heavenly Spin. Like when a bat hits a ball. When the ball is thrown it doesn't have nearly enough force as when the bat hit the ball. The ball moves much faster and farther."

Naruto looked worried. "But Hinata, the bat hits the ball with more force than what the ball was thrown with. If you want that move to work, you will have to generate almost twice the amount of chakra as your Heavenly spin in one burst from your feet, and at a precise time. Plus the amount of strain you would put on your body could kill you or make you pass out." Hinata stared at him.

"I-I didn't know I needed twice the force to throw me in another direction." She was quiet for a moment, and then looked down dejectedly. "I don't think I can do that. I don't have enough Chakra and if I miss it will be a huge loss of chakra for nothing." She sighed and kicked the ground refusing to meet Naruto's eyes.

Naruto took on a glassy far-way look he got when he was thinking. He perked up a bit; one would think that his ears twitched like a fox as an idea came to him. "But Hinata there IS a use for that! Wow a GREAT use!" He got real excited for her. She looked started as he grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen on him.

"What Naruto-kun?"

He started to talk quickly now. "What the biggest disadvantage to a taijutsu user?" She looked at him blankly. "Long range attacks!" he exclaimed. "The problem is always getting close enough to a long range fighter to make the best use of your taijutsu! Normally to counter this you would use a just to distract him, slow him down, or immobilize him, giving you enough time to move in. But this is a waste of chakra just to get in close to him and then more chakra to try and defeat him. With this move you can use it for both defense, distraction and to close in on a long range type all in one more. It is the most efficient use of time energy and tactics! And a long range type would be more than thirty yards away; by the time you move that far the force needed to stop yourself would be significantly less!" He was out of breath and panting after his little rant. She pondered what he said and realized he was right. 'Naruto-kun' she thought. 'When did you become so smart?' She couldn't help but smile and get excited as his eagerness infected her.

"Why don't we try it out Naruto-Kun? You can use a clone and stand far enough away and I can practice." She beamed. He really liked it when she smiled. He nodded and made several clones and move away from her. They began to train together.

From behind the trees in the forest two figures watched the couple go through their motions.

"Are you sure this is smart Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked. "he father would not take kindly to a relationship developing with Naruto." Tsunade turned to give the jounin a steely glare.

"Because of the nine-tails?" she dared him to say yes.

"No. Because she is the heir and he might have plans for her marriage."

Tsunade snorted. "Like I give a damn about that. Look at them. They are perfect for each other. She can calm him down and he can toughen her up. Every time they are together you can just see the good they do with each other. I have a feeling if we keep throwing them together they will realize that they love each other. Hinata already knows. Naruto however will be a problem. You can cram him full of books Kakashi, but it won't change the fact that the boy is denser than a block of iron. You will have to nudge him towards that line of thought for him to begin to see it."

"Me? No way. I suck at relationships, why do you think I am still single?"

"Pfft. Don't give me that you have had plenty of chances. Take Kurenai for example.

"Her and Asuma. Plus her eyes freak me out."

"That Jounin Kimeri."

"Into women." Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at that.

"Iruka's sister."

"doesn't Shave"

"Anko"

"Too young"

"Me."

"Too old." He replied without thinking.

WHAM! Kakashi was slammed into the ground and looked up in horror at the Hokage's Foot descending on him. He closed his eyes and heard it hit right next to his head. 'Phew' he thought' thank god 'she didn't use her strength'. Tsunade glared at him. "Would you care to rephrase that comment?"

"S-Sorry Hokage-sama. I meant to say that I revere your greatness too much!"

She smiled and patted his head lifting him up from the ground. 'I'm saved he thought.' They both turned back to where the two teens were practicing that new move that Hinata showed.

"I do have to admit however that having him go through the entire academy again in three days did pay off. The use he came up with for that move of Hinata's is pure genius. He just eliminated the Hyuuga clan's biggest weakness in ten seconds of thought. Once he gets some more Just into his arsenal if he starts thinking like that he will be a force to be reckoned with." She looked back at the former ANBU captain. "What type of fight do you plan to turn him into?"

"Every kind. With his clone training he can Master both advanced Jutsu for long to mid range and become very formidable with taijutsu and his Rasengan." He took a deep breath. "He is going to need all of them and time is growing shorter and shorter for him. I think we can expect a small break while Akusuke recovers from their losses We know that they have lost five members. That has to be a blow to them. Ninja of the caliber they normally use aren't easy to find, much less enlist. They will probably leave us and Naruto alone for the time being and focus on the other tailed beasts. If we can hold out for three months then Naruto will probably become the strongest ninja since his father."

Tsunade winced at the mention of Minato. "When do you think we should tell him?" she asked.

"Soon. With Jiriya dead things are going to start moving rapidly, We have to go over his will and tell Naruto before it is too late. My sensei left some things for him, to be hidden till the time was right. He is of the age and strength now to fend for himself if any of the 4ths' enemies comes looking for vengeance through his son."

"And Kushina? His mother. What about her?"

Kakashi sighed. "I think she is dead."

"A body was never found Kakashi. We looked everywhere, we would have found something."

"It doesn't mean she didn't survive and found death else-where. I can't see her not coming to Naruto's aid after all these years. If she is alive and just left him…I will have no pity on her. Naruto needed her badly growing up. If she is alive she had better have a damn good reason for not being here."

Tsunade looked at Naruto smiling and encouraging Hinata to do her best. 'Yes' she thought 'Kushina, you better have one damn good reason.'

Naruto spent the next two days working with Kakashi and Shikamaru, testing Naruto on his knowledge. Shikamaru helped him on some tactics for how to use his clones and abilities and Kakashi corrected some wrong understandings of Just and chakra manipulation theory. Naruto and his sensei were arguing about just one such theory now.

"Sensei. Everything I have learned says I should be able to manipulate and alter the Rasengan. You tell me it can't be done based on its need for a spherical shape. I call bull! There has to be some way to change it!"

Kakashi wanted to smother the kid at this point. They had being going round and round over this point for the better part of an hour. Shikamaru just took a nap, grumbling about the trouble of teaching Naruto. "No, No, No Naruto. If you alter the shape in any way or try to throw it, or hide it, or change anything but the size and strength of it, then it will lose focus and unravel causing you harm and a large waste of chakra. Now change of subject this is getting tiresome."

Naruto grumbled a bit but went back to answering Khakshi's other questions. He knew there had to be a way to do what he wanted. Instead of a spherical attack he wanted to turn the rasengan into a stream attack and send it long range at his opponent. Or better yet give it more substance and throw it like a shurken. He felt if he could find some way to do that with the Rasengan he would be able to complete the Futon-Rasen-Shuriken technique so he wouldn't have to get so close to his enemy and take damage himself. He couldn't use a clone to hold it. The massive power of the technique and wind it generated would destroy the clone and negate the just. His only option was to complete it and make it long range. They key was in the Rasengan he knew it. The rotation of the sphere kept the wind element together, if he could just find a way so that the sphere could hold substance beyond his palm he would have one of the most powerful jutsu ever devised since the drawbacks would only be the chakra used instead of self inflicted damage, and it would be all his own. He sighed and pushed the thoughts back and focused on what Kakashi was asking."

"Yes sensei. When using a bear sign at the end of a just instead of a tiger you increase the size of the just rather than the strength and if you use the hawk you increase the speed. You can't use all three without disrupting the chakra build created by the previous signs so you have to choose of the primary signs or none at all at the end. "

"Good. I think you have it all Naruto. There isn't much more you can learn except by training and experience. Why don't you take a break for the rest of the day and go have some fun.

"You just want to get back to that pervy book."

"Well between you and me Naruto it is a pretty good book the best one yet. It's a shame it isn't finished, but you know what? I think it makes it all the more meaningful." He patted the glaring kid on the head and vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto sighed and looked over at the sleeping Shikamaru. He walked over and shook him awake.

"Man you're so troublesome. Can't a guy take a nap?"

"You sleep enough as it is! Anyways I have a question." Naruto said

Shikamaru yawned and nodded for him to go on.

"When you use your shadow just you can make the shadows free float in the air, it's like you give the shadows substance and control their movements. How do you to that?"

The lazy Jounin thought it over before replying. "Well Shadows do have substance even if you don't know it. My Chakra use infuses it and I alter its direction and shape. It is more along the lines of I send my chakra out and hooks the shadow and it drags the shadow where I want it to. I can't make shadows with it I can only use what is there and draw from a source. As far as detaching them from the ground I simply condense the amount of chakra and direct it so quickly that it literally forces the shadow to lift off the ground. Shadows are nothing more than air that doesn't have light passing through it. I am wind natured so that allows me to do what I do."

Naruto thought it over and nodded. "Thanks Shikamaru I think I understand." He jumped up to the window and leapt onto the roof and headed over to get some Raman.

"Naruto-kun!" He turned around to see Hinata running up to join him. She wasn't in her Shinobi uniform and his jaw almost dropped before he remembered himself. She was in loose jeans and a kinda baggy brown long sleeve shirt. What was best of all was she got her hair cut. It was short again but wasn't the 'duck-butt' style that he heard some people refer it to. It was short and layered in the back and it grew longer and lower the closer to the front of her face it got. The tips swung forward slightly just at her jaw line framing her pale angelic face in a deep almost black violet. She looked amazing he thought. She came up to him and started talking but he didn't hear what she said he just stared at her, he couldn't think of anything or say anything, he had never seen anyone so beautiful before.

"WOW!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata stopped and looked confused. "You look great Hinata-chan! I love what you did with you hair!" The kunochi blushed a deep crimson and didn't know what to say. 'He is just being nice' she thought. 'I'm not pretty like Sakura; he just doesn't want me to feel bad.' She still appreciated his sentiments however. "T-Thank you Naruto-kun. I had to get it cut when I had some of my hair torn off practicing the Vanishing Step."

"Vanishing Step?" Naruto asked.

"Hai! It is what I am calling the move we were working on. I almost have my aim down now, I just have to perfect the aim a bit more then work on training my body to react to the speed and strike before the enemy has a chance to recover." She smiled broadly.

"That's great Hinata-chan! You really are amazing! I couldn't have got that far so quickly!" Naruto told her. Hinata looked even more confused at that moment.

"But with your clone training Naruto-kun you could perfect that in a matter of hours!"

"Yeah but that's because of how many clones would be working on it. If I made several hundred clones and had them working on it for three days that would be like three thousand hours of training. If you could do the clone training as well you would master it in about 10 minutes! That the difference between you and I. You just so much better than me!" Hinata just stared in wonder at the boy before looking down and blushing. God she always blushing. She wished she could just act normal around him like she did with Kiba and Shino. "Again Thank you for the compliments."

Naruto waved her off and started to walk, she fell in beside him. "No need to be so formal and polite all the time Hinata!" A warm feeling grew in her stomach at the casual familiarity he addressed her with. She didn't correct him, she rather liked it. "So what did you need Hinata?" The blond asked.

She started as she forgot why she called out to him. "Oh! Being the heir to my clan I am required to go out into the village once a week and spend time helped shop owners and the people with their work, so that I know what type of people we have in the village and to ensure good will towards the clan." Naruto thought that suspiciously sounded like a direct quote from some 'how to be a good heir' guide that her father must have written out for the girl, but didn't say anything. "Today I am working in a pet shop, but the owner had to leave suddenly for an emergency and well…" She didn't know quite how he might take this. "I-I-I-I" She just stuttered not being able to formulate the question properly.

"Did you need some help? I love animals! Wow that could be a lot of fun! I've never had a pet before, or even been in a pet shop! Let's go!" Before she new what was going on she saw that he had her hand in his and was dragging her back to the pet shop. She was indeed going to ask him for help but wasn't ready for the eagerness and energy he displayed at the thought. While he dragged her along She just stared at his hand holding hers. It was warm, but calloused like all Shinobi due tot eh training, but he held it with a firmness she liked. Everyone seemed to treat her like she was so fragile, but not Naruto, he thought she was strong and treated her that way. She just sighed and let the blond boy that she was head over heals for lead the way.

The time in the pet shop was great for the boy. More fun that he could ever remember having before. He found himself really attached to these two golden retriever puppies and always seemed to have them around him when he helped Hinata and any customers that showed up. He didn't know how to sell a pet, but his eagerness and child-like enthusiasm seemed to infect the customers as well and soon anyone who was in the shop of giggling like mad and playing with their potential pets before Hinata could even complete the transactions. She was just finishing up helping this mother and small girl buy a kitten when she felt Naruto come up behind her.

"Hey Hinata0chan look at this! Isn't it great?!" She turned around with a smile and he help up his hand in front of her. He eyes grew large and round as she saw what she had to believe was one of the biggest and hairiest spiders on the planet."

"AYYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" Hinata screamed and literally jumped on the ceiling and started to scream again. Naruto was so started that he jumped back right into the cages of puppies and kittens knocking them all over and breaking the doors loose.

"Oh no!" Before he knew it every single kitten and puppy and dog and cat even some of the other spiders that were in glass contained were everywhere the cat seeing the Large spiders darted everyone and out the door., The dogs seeing the cats running, naturally gave chase. And ran outside after them. Naruto was in a panic. The animals were loose and Hinata was still stuck on the ceiling and screaming and babbling like a little girl pointing at all the spiders crawling on the ground. The boy did the only think he could think of in this emergency. His mass Shadow clone jutsu. In his panic he put far too much chakra into the Jutsu. When the smoke cleared the small store was stuffed to the brim with Naruto's none of them could move an inch. Hinata's eyes bulged out as she felt the mass of bodies press against her. N-Naruto-kun! I can't breath!" She said.

All the Naruto were yelling and no one could hear her. "Ack! Hinata! You're touching my butt!" Hinata immediately reddened, but couldn't move her arm or hands. "Wait that's not Hinata! That's me! You pervy self! Stop touching me like that! I can touch myself all I want, you're me after all!" Hinata didn't quite no what to say to that conversation so just concentrated on finding so way to get out of this mess when she saw the spider again. It crawled right over one of the Naruto clone's butt and stared right at her not more than half an inch from her face. She froze. It looked at her. She looked at it. It looked at her some more, she looked back some more. She passed out.

The shop owner was trying to hurry back to help the kind Hyuuga heir who offered to help her for the day. She was worried she might have asked too much out of the volunteer, but didn't have much a choice. As she rounded the last corner she almost tripped as several cats and even more dogs chasing them darted around her and between her legs. Her eyes grew wide and she rushed to the shop. She stopped outside and just stared. ALL she saw was a large withering orange mass inside her store. Up against the glass she saw dozens of faces distorted and plastered in a flat stare staring at her and yelling. Slowly she turned around and walked home. She hoped she would wake up from this dream soon, she really didn't know what to think.

"Gah! I'm so sorry Hinata-chan! I will pay for all those pets the owner lost. I will pay for the missions for gennins to get them back! The Hokage said it wouldn't be that much since it would be easy but good experience for the slower ones." The pair was finally saved by Kakashi. He was walking by and saw the trouble they were in. Naruto still didn't like the way his sensei handled it as he butt was still a little cooked from the jutsu. Naruto thought the masked man did it just to get revenge for when Naruto sent a clone, transformed as a bookseller, with a fake copy of Ichi Ichi Paradise to him earlier this morning. Still they were out of it but had to listen to a lecture from Kakashi, Granny Tsunade and Hiashi, Hinata's father, about the stern responsibility of a Leaf Shinobi. They made it through and were heading to get something to eat.

Hinata had never been mad at the boy before, but this time she was rather irked with him. She hated spiders, detested them, loathed them and went out of her way to stay away from them at all costs, even standing up to her father making him kill them rather than do it herself when he criticized her for not showing the backbone of a Ninja. She didn't care. If there was one thing she was ever adamant on it was that she would have nothing what-so ever to do with those creepy monstrosities. So naturally she was glaring at the blond for doing something so wretched to her.

Naruto could feel the promise of bad things to come glaring at him from the corner of his eye. It was almost like she was sending some killer intent at him. He had never even heard of Hinata ever being mad, but less at him before. He was nervously scratching at the back of his head as he thought furiously for a way to get her un-mad at him. A rather simple idea came to him. He always felt better from ramen. Maybe she would to.

"Hey Hinata! Do you want some ramen? I will share mine with you!" Yep that did the trick he thought. Her glare dropped away and she just stood there looking at him with a strange look on her face. 'Share his ramen with her? Naruto never shares his ramen. He wanted to take her on a date and treat her to his favorite food?' The fact that Naruto never even considered it a date didn't register with her. All she could do was give the slightest of nods, not trusting her mouth to speak her elation. Naruto grinned and once again grabbed her hand and lead her off to get some food. RAMEN! YEAH!

* * *

Shizune was struggling to find a place to put the papers that the Hokage had to go over. For the past two days the temperamental medical ninja had been staring into that damn glass ball grinning wickedly. Pretty soon Kakashi and Kurenai and Anko were hovering over the ball to, they were making some kind of bet and eating some snacks. Kurenai had some odd looking food with her that Shizune wouldn't be caught dead eating, probably due to the pregnancy. She struggled to push the stack of work onto like the 10th pile that had started to grow to the ceiling of the office. She had had enough. Tsunade had to start doing her duties as Hokage and get away from whatever little project she was doing. With hands on her hips she strode over to the desk.

"Ahem!" The group looked up at her.

"Yeah Shizune?" The medic nin said.

"What on earth are you doing with that stupid ball? You haven't done any of the work I brought you for the past two days!" She glared at her sensei.

"Then stop bringing me work." Tsunade stated and the group turned back to the ball. Shizune didn't really no what to say to that statement so decided to get down to the bottom of the problem.

"What are you watching in that ball anyways? A horse race?" Tsunade's ears perked up at that and she turned to her assistant with a beaming smile!

"What an excellent Idea! Thank you Shizune! I hadn't thought of that before!"

Shizune dropped as the mistake of that and several nightmares involving protesting debtors outside the Hokage tower sprung into her mind. 'Oh no'. She just sighed and left the office. What the group of jounin was really doing was watching the young soon to be couple grow in their friendship. They were betting on who would be the first to ask the other on a date. Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai put their bets on Hinata. Tsunade put her bets on Naruto. "She is too shy to ask, he isn't afraid look at all the times he threw himself at Sakura, and he just needs to realize it!"

"That's the problem and why you will lose Hokage-sama." Kakashi retorted. "Naruto is a thick as they come and he won't realize that he likes the girl, until she asked him out and tell him she likes him first." Tsunade didn't agree and planned to win this bet, even if she had to stage it somehow by putting ideas into the boys head. She licked her lips anxiously. They all had a good laugh as they watched the pet shop scene earlier today. Tsunade had never seen Anko laugh that hard and Kakashi just turned away, his shoulders shaking from laughing as well till he excused himself to rescue the would-be couple. "They are just so …perfect for each other' Tsunade thought.

'I will get them together somehow.

* * *

**A/N**

-Phew sorry for the long chapter, but I hate rushing things just for the sake of action. The naruto/Hinata relationship MUST grow in the story and considering the two personalities it jsut cant be rushed without outlandishly changing them in some way, which I just wont do. Hinata is too unique a character compared to the other nins to change. She has real defination in my opinion.

-I Had to make Naruto smarter in some way. His biggest setback was is lack of attention during the academy. For real training to begin he had to know all there was to his powers. Again I am not going to give him some Uber instant hit and your dead move. He has that with the FRS already. Nor will he suddenly up and start using all five elements in powerful jutsu what 'ROCK the foundation of belief. He will stick to what he knows Wind and will have some fire and water mixed in. The only reason he will have fire is cause of the kyuubi that has been in him since birth would naturally give him the ability to use it. But it will be weak.

-Please provide feedback on my writing so far. I need to know what to change before I get too far along in the story.

THANKS!

* * *


	4. Chapter 4 In the palm of my hand

**Chapter 4**

"**In the palm of my hand."**

-SPLASH!- Naruto sat up suddenly sputtering as the icy water shot up his nose. He looked around franticly till he noticed Kakashi and Gai-sensei standing over him. He had to wince as the spandex clad taijutsu master flashed one of his smiles at him. Lee stood next to him. All three had helped him this afternoon. Well him and 1000 of his clones. They had gone through just about every move each knew, besides their special forbidden ones that they kept for themselves. Then the clones practiced for about 6 hours. The real Naruto during that time learned that if he just sat and rested and ate lots of food during that time the accelerated metabolism that his body ate up when he dispelled all the clones wouldn't cause him to pass out for several hours maybe just a few minutes 15 at most. The energy reserves were already there.

Every time he brought his clones back together he could only marvel at his new knowledge. He could now recognize the gained experience and what exactly it was doing for him.

"How do you feel Naruto?" Lee asked. "Did it work?" Naruto winced as he sat up further against the tree they had him against. He thought over the statement.

"Yeah! I think it did. I already know what would be best to use with my eight moons form." He looked over to Kakashi. "Those chakra thrusts you showed me would be a great addition, but I think I will alter it to try and use my wind manipulation. If I do it right I don't need direct contact giving my hits a larger range and greater potential damage. It will cost more Chakra, but I have plenty to spare."

Kakashi nodded. "That would be wise, but don't discount he potential for the concussive force of those regular thrusts. Lot's of Doton users have ways to enforce their skin, making your wind element less effective. Take Gara for example. His sand skin would be more resistant to your Wind slice, they would cancel each other out almost, but concussive force will travel through the pieces of sand and if repeatedly don e or with a strong enough you could crack a rib or knock his breath out."

Naruto nodded as he thought this through. "Hai. I will remember that. How is Hinata doing with the Vanishing Step?" He looked over to the young girl across the field who preparing another Heavenly spin.

"Very well. She can hit her exact mark every time now. We set her up with a swinging target so she can get some practice with moving enemies. When you get a chance it would be helpful if you could give her some clones to try against in random patterns. All she needs to do now is use her eyes to spot you before releasing from the spin. That will only come with practice as her eyes and reflexes will get used to that speed." They all watched as she did one of her spins then they next thing they knew the practice dummy twirled around at almost violent speeds, and they saw Hinata standing past it with her arm outstretched, palm open.

"She moves so fast when she does that Sensei. I can't follow her at all." His teacher nodded.

"Another benefit it seems is that her natural speed has increased dramatically. It is putting a great deal of strain on her muscles, building them impressively. All in all Naruto it was a great idea you came up with. That move will be a great addition to the Hyuuga clan. Long range jutsu has always been their biggest problem, although they would never admit it. They will grasp at this like you do ramen. I already told Hiashi and he most assuredly wants a demonstration as soon as the move is complete. That man is a cold stone, but he showed emotion alright, when I told him about this. Hinata will earn the eternal gratitude and respect of the entire clan and you will get in the clan's, but most importantly her father's good graces."

Naruto blushed and shrugged. "It is her move sensei. She came up with it all on her own. I just pointed out the flaw and gave her another direction to take it. Don't give me any credit; she is doing all the work." Naruto then noticed something else the masked pervert said. "And who cares what her father thinks."

Kakashi looked at the boy in confusion. "Well I would think you would. She is your girlfriend and fathers take that kind of thing very seriously."

"NANI?! She isn't my girlfriend!" Naruto jumped up and stared wide eyed at the jounin.

"Oh?" He looked at Hinata then back at Naruto. "Why not?"

Naruto looked at the masked man like he was crazy. "Cause no girl wants to date me! Fathers with girls my age aren't exactly glowing with good will when I am concerned." The blond replied sarcastically.

"That's it? So you would date her if she wanted to?"

Naruto was greatly disturbed by this question. He hadn't really thought about dating anyone other than Sakura-chan. He had noticed Hinata a lot recently and their time together was always fun. In fact now that he thought about it, whenever he dreamed of going on dates with Sakura it was exactly like how he spent his time with Hinata. He looked past his waiting sensei to the girl who was wearily resting on the ground trying to recover her strength. She felt his looking and turned around. Why a soft blush she waved in the distance. 'Yes' he thought. 'I would date her in a heart-beat.'

"Well…yeah I mean she is really great. She doesn't want to date me though. She is heir to a powerful clan and really rich and really strong and pretty! She probably has a boyfriend and tons of guys lined up to go out with her!" Naruto was actually saddened by this.

It was dirty play, but he wanted the winnings from the bet and he knew exactly how to get them. His smile grew positively malicious under that mask and Naruto didn't like that look in his sensei's eye on bit. Kakashi turned and yelled out across the field. "HEY HINATA!"

Tsunade's eyes grew wide as she watched the scene from her office. "DAMN YOU KAKASHI! YOU CHEATER!" Shizune cringed back frightened by her sensei's temper.

"K-Kakashi sensei! What are you doing?" Naruto nervously exclaimed. The ex-ANBU ignored him as Hinata looked up. "COME OVER HERE! NARUTO WANTS TO KNOW SOMETHING!"

"N-N-NANI!" Kakashi quickly subdued his student as he attempted to run away. Gai realizing was what going on quickly helped out with a wide smile. "Lee!" he said. "Help us" Lee looked confused for a moment, but trusted Gai-sensei in everything.

"Ok sensei!" In short order they held the punching squirming fox –container down while Kakashi held his hand over his mouth. He winced as Naruto bit him, but his gloves protected him from any real pain.

Hinata stood and curiously made her way over to the group. For some reason they were holding Naruto down as he struggled to get free. It was a confusing, but fairly humorous, sight and she couldn't help but to giggle a little. He and Naruto had been spending a great deal of time together over the past week, mostly training and lunch, but she was more comfortable around him now and didn't stutter as much. It had been five days since that day at the pet shop and she still recalled his treating her to Raman.

They just talked; or rather He did because she could barely form a straight thought at that point. He didn't just buy her ramen He got one large bowl and they each ate from it. In her clan sharing a plate was considered the greatest sign of trust and love. She knew the blond didn't know that, but her heart swelled each time they dipped into the noodles.

When she went home that night she walked into the door swaying with a little hum and twirling in small shy dance. Her little sister gawked at her and demanded to know what was wrong. Nejii looked slightly disgusted and even frightened. Her father. Well her rather squinted and looked slightly anger eying her from head to toe with a suspiciously knowing look in his eye. She didn't care about any of that though as she danced to her room ignoring everyone. It was one of the best nights in her life.

She thought about all this as she reached the three who were holding Naruto down. "Yes Kakashi –sensei?" She asked.

The powerful jounin looked at her closely before speaking. "Naruto here-" He winced and tightened his grip on the mumbling and struggling form in his arms. "Naruto here says that you must have a boyfriend. That you are the most beautiful and enchanting woman in Konoha that you have men lined up from entire countries to court you. Is this true?"

Hinata just looked at the tall man blankly.

"Ummm… Hinata? Because if it isn't Naruto was greatly saddened that you didn't ask him to be your boyfriend since he thinks so highly of you" She swooned a bit and almost passed out. Naruto-kun really thought all that? Naruto-kun wanted to … to be her boyfriend? It was a dream come true, her deepest desire and sadly at that point, when everything she wanted was coming true, everything she practiced in her mind over and over again came, she didn't know what to do or say. She looked at Naruto in awed shock. The sight was enough to jar her out of her stupor. Naruto looked like a deer caught in some headlight. He was stark stiff, his eyes were wide and filled with horror and looked at her in fear and apology. As if she WANTED him to be sorry! It took every ounce of willpower not to laugh at the man she loved. It would be an insult to him if she did, she knew that all too well.

"Hinata?" Kakashi asked again drawing her attention. "Do you have something you want to say?" He inquired.

She blushed deeply down to her neckline and looked down, poking her fingers together. She hadn't done that in front of Naruto in almost a week. She spoke very softly, but everyone was very quiet. "N-n-no I-I-I don't have a b-b-b-b-b-boyfriend. N-no-no one has ever asked me before." She glanced away very embarrassed.

Naruto felt any strength he had drain out of him. He was absolutely humiliated and hated his sensei to the core at that moment, he really dreadfully was prepared to make some clones and unleash is Futon-Rasen-Shiriken Jutsu and seriously injure he teacher. When Hinata said that he was just stunned into submission. 'How could she with all her beauty and strength not have had anyone ever ask her out? Sakura gets asked out all the time by boys and Hinata is way greater that her!' was all he could think. He was stunned and confused.

"Well then Hinata-san!" Gai interjected at this point, knowing well what his rival was up to and decidedly to be a part of this. "Perhaps all you needed to do was take that youthful strength and ask someone. Naruto said he liked you a great deal. Why don't you ask him then?"

Hinata looked started at that thought. 'Ask someone?' She hadn't thought of that, it was usually the other way around and she wasn't really expected to get into any kind of relationship due to her status. While not forbidden, it wasn't exactly encouraged either. She never struggled harder than she did at that moment. Her face was flushed, her knees were shaking, her palms sweaty. He vision seemed to tunnel and narrow in on Naruto's confused blue eyes (Kakashi was still holding the boy down.). Her heart thundered in her chest, reverberating in her ears. The beats rocking her body and drowning out all thought. She couldn't even hear her own voice, it was like someone else was speaking and not her, and she was just a watcher far away from the scene.

"N-Naruto-kun. W-Would you be my b-boyfriend?" There she finally got it out. It was easier than she thought, although her fear after she asked left her paralyzed and dreading that he would laugh at her and walk away.

Kakashi and Gai finally let the boy go dropping him on the ground. Lee was holding his feet and forgot to let go, resulting his Naruto having his face stuck in the dirt. "L-Lee … let go."

"Oh! Sorry Naruto-kun." Naruto rubbed his jaw and sat up facing Hinata, looking at her closely. He never had a girl ask him out before. Well those twins at the village had promised to marry him when they grew up, but that didn't count. Why would Hinata want to have him as a boyfriend? It didn't make sense? Everyone always liked those cool pretty boys like Sasuke and Nejii and now -gah- Sai. Naruto flat out refused to admit anything like that, but he always thought he was rather plain and silly looking. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and couldn't help but to ask her. "You want me to be your boyfriend?" Hinata couldn't meet his eyes and just gave the slightest of nods.

"But why me?" She just poked her fingers together faster. Kakashi laid a hand on his shoulder. Don't ask questions Naruto that can come later, just give her an answer."

Naruto smiled slight and took a step closer to her. The poking was frantic now. "Hinata. I really do think you're very pretty and I do like you a lot." The poking was a blur. "Well! If you think I am good enough to be a boyfriend then I can for sure become Hokage! I'd be glad to be your boyfriend!" The poking stopped. She looked up stunned.

"R-Really Naruto-kun?" He nodded and smiled grabbing her hands. She blushed again and looked down at their joined hands. She giggled. "I-I-" She couldn't finish the thought as Lee and Gai jumped into the air screaming.

"Congratulation's Naruto and Hinata! Rarely have I see the bright fire that is youth burn bright than in two people who are in love! You're children will go strong and I the beautiful Green beast of Konoha will watch over and train them in the way of the leaf!" He did his pose and smile for them.

"...Children?" The too said in unison and unconsciously moved closer to one another staring at the absurd taijutsu master.

"Lee! Take note of their passion for it that which gives us strength!"

"Yes Gai-sensei! I will endeavor to train my heart as well as my body in the hopes that I do can strength my youthful fires with the passion of love!"

Gai looked on proudly at his student tears welling in his eyes. "Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

The two game together and embraced. Naruto and Hinata's faces were very disturbed and both moved behind Kakashi in an effort to hide themselves from this painfully wrong display. Kakashi pulled his mask up to cover his one eye and plugged his ears, humming to himself to drown out the words.

Finally the master and student separated, it was then that Naruto and Hinata noticed that they were clinging to one other while hiding behind Kakashi. They both turned red and separated rather hastily. Naruto sheepishly kicked at the ground looking down with his hands behind his back. "So."

"Ummm." Hinata replied.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OUT TOMORROW NIGHT?" They both said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise then both laughed. "Hai." Hinata replied when they got their breath back. "I would like that very much Naruto-kun." She smiled gently at him, for some reason she wasn't as nervous anymore. She felt oddly very content and peaceful.

"Great!" Naruto almost leapt into the air. "I will pick you up I am done training at 6."

"Ummm Naruto." Kakashi interrupted. "You might want to make it 7. "You will have to shower and change after you're done. Especially tomorrow."

"Oh yeah…ok how about 7 then?" He asked the pale Hyuuga.

"Hai. 7 is fine. I will be ready!" She replied.

Naruto didn't know what else to do and felt it would be awkward to resume training with her at this point so he patted squeezed her hand gently. And leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Make it 6:30. Knowing these guys half the Jounin will be watching and stalking us the entire night."

She jumped slightly at that thought and nodded quickly to let him know she would be, then turned to look at Naruto's team leader suspiciously.

"Well I will see you then Hinata-chan! BYE!" He waved before taking off. The rest nodded to her respectfully and went their separate ways leaving her standing alone and very happy on the training ground.

--

Dark eyes overlooked the landscape from the top of a cliff. A vast sea of vegetation and swamp, as far as even his eyes could see. He tilted his head and held out his hand letting the chill wind blow through his fingers. 'So serene he thought.' A sharp screech broke the tranquility and he looked up to see two hawks locked in a life or death struggle plummeting through the air. 'How ironic'. He smirked as they broke away at the last second neither of them gaining the upper hand. 'Had one been willing to die he could have defeated the other.' He shrugged inward and returned to his thoughts and the wind. Another screech broke the tranquility once more. "SASSSUUKEE-KUN!" He closed his eyes and sighed as Karin cried out to him.

"Sasuke-kun. What are we doing here? Let's just leave these losers behind and go off someplace-alone." The female ninja said and slide up next to him in a luscious whisper. He does his best to control his impulse to kill the girl, but she really tries his patience. He slipped out of her grasp and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"We will need everyone if we are to capture the eight-tails. If its power is anything like Naruto's then we could be hard pressed."

"Naruto-Naruto-Naruto." Suigetsu broke into the conversation. "I keep hearing name. First at the bridge, then in the forest, then at the lame ass meeting from that Madara guy. Who the hell is this Naruto?"

Sasuke glanced back at his blood thirsty team mate. "He is an annoyance, but he contains the nine tailed beast. The Kyuubi. He is weak, but that creature isn't. A bijuu's power is reflected by its container. Naruto will be easy to handle, but the eight tail container is said to be very skilled. Be on your guard. Don't take it lightly." Sasuke turned and started to walk down the side of the cliff into the swampland below.

Suigetsu snorted. "What ever. If it gets in my way I will just get eight heads for the price of one." he hefted his giant blade as if to prove his point.

Karin looked at his and smirked in that insuferating manner. "It is eight tails, not heads idiot."

Suigetsu ground his teeth and itched to attack her. "You want to say that again bitch? I will cleave your boney little ass into eight tails as well!" Karin opened her mouth to say something back before Sasuke's voice yelled at them from down the cliff.

"Your constant bickering is trying my patience. How about both of you shut up before I come back up there?" Karin cringed back and started to run down the side to please him. Suigetsu just snorted but followed Juugo after the two.

At the base of the cliff the four of them stared into the inky darkness of the swamp. "So how are we gonna find this eight tails guy? This is the swamp of the moss lords. The trees and lakes themselves are infused with chakra. Karin won't be able to get his chakra scent." Suigetsu said. Sasuke looked over to the girl in confirmation. Her eyes squinted in concentration and a bead of sweat broke off her brow before she broke off panting.

"He's right Sasuke-kun. I can't filter out the land from living things. I won't be able to find him unless we are almost on top of him."

Sasuke thought it over for a couple of minutes. "I will take care of it" he finally said. His hands blurred with some seals and he struck the ground with his palm. "Summoning No-Jutsu!" When the smoke cleared there was a pile of snakes all writhing together. All the eyes turned to their summoner and waited for their commands. "Go out and search the area. Report back to me when you find anything unusual." Silently the mass broke apart and headed into the swampy waters. Suigetsu looked at the leader of 'Hawk' curiously.

"I thought you couldn't do that snake shit anymore, not that Orochimaru isn't in you anymore?"

Sasuke didn't even twitch or look back as he answered. "I can not, but I still hold the snake summoning contract."

"Oh!" the other three replied almost in unison. "So what do we do now Sasuke-sama?" Juugo spoke for the first time in awhile.

"We wait." He replied and sat down on a rock at the base of the cliff. 'Soon' He thought. Very soon. He leaned back with a small smile and began to sort through more of the memories and knowledge that his brother imparted to him. 'Madara hasn't told me everything, but I will find the truth of it all.' His smile upturned into a sinister promise. His subordinates shift uncomfortably and all found something to do while they waited for the snakes to report back.

--

Meanwhile Naruto was sitting at the Raman stand eating some noodles trying to get a grasp of what happened between Hinata and him. He wasn't really seeking a girlfriend, he had a lot of training to do and fights ahead of him. Dangerous fights. This whole thing kinda crept up on him and before he knew it he was falling for Hinata, his sensei ambushed him and the girl asked him out. None of those books Kakashi made him read, or his time with the pervy-sage taught him what to do around women.

"Naruto. I am glad you have a girl-friend now, but don't let it distract you from your training." His sensei interrupted his thoughts.

"Well that's your fault now isn't it? You're the one who jumped me and set this up." The blond replied.

"Well I just thought you needed a push. Anyways there is something I need to ask you." Naruto just looked at him and waited for the question.

"Why can't you perform the Rasengan with one hand yet? You still need a clone. Seems a waste of time and chakra." The jounin looked at the kid closely when he asked this. Naruto just got a far away look and scratched his head.

"Eh. I really don't know Kakashi-sensei. I've been using clones for it for so long now I really don't even think about it."

"Well I think it is time to change that then. Your gonna be up against some really fast guys, who wont always give your he breathing room to summon a clone and create the sphere. With your style of taijutsu and the open palmed blocks and strikes, if you can get to the point of creating the Rasengan one handed, in less than a second, it will probably once again become your most powerful tool. If they move to block a normal thrust and suddenly find a Rasengan it will inure them greatly enough for you to finish hem off, if the technique doesn't already."

Naruto thought about this with some trepidation. The rasengan was still hard to perform even after so many years of doing it. One handed seems like a tall order. "That's gonna take some time sensei. You can do the move and I saw that even you had to concentrate and take some time to pull it off." Kakashi waved that comment away.

"Time isn't a problem for you remember. Although we will have to cut back on the amount of clones. The mental stress they will be using to train this could kill you easily or put you into a coma when you dispel them. I would say limit it at 100. We will stop all other training and just focus on this until you can create the Rasengan one handed in about half a second."

Naruto goggled at the man. 'Is he crazy?' he thought. 'Only Jiriya and the 4th were good enough to do that and they had years and fully matured chakra coils to do that.' "But-"

"No buts Naruto. You wanted me to train you and I know what you are capable of. Jiriya was a very fast and strong Shinobi. You're going to have to surpass him and quickly if you're going to stand a chance at beat the guy who killed him." Naruto firmed up his resolve and nodded.

"I will do it. I just hope you have some patience with me." They went back to their meals as a young girl with odd glasses and the look of a total nerd ran up to them. It was one of the members of the cryptology squad that was working on the message that Jiriya left."

"Naruto-san. Kakashi-sama. We broke the code. The Hokage wants us all to meet her at her officer immediately."

Naruto leapt up, for once forgetting about his ramen. "It's about time! Now we can get to the bottom of all this!"

The trio headed off to the Hokage tower.

--

The dark robes fluttered in the wind and rain on top of a tall spire. Eyes that rippled with alternating purple and orange stared up through the sky.

"Madara-sama was surprised, that you took so long with the Intruder." The figure next to him said.

"It was Jiriya and a Sannin. Even I had trouble defeating him and almost lost four bodies in the process."

Kohan nodded and looked calmly no emotion on either of their faces. "He wants us to get the nine-tails as quickly as possible. He seems urgent about it." The female nin said.

"He can wait. I need to make a detour. Something wasn't right about Jiriya-sensei staying to fight. He knew he would die, he could have gotten away." Pain said. Kohan looked at him a second and then nodded.

"And me?" she asked.

"You go on ahead to Konoha. Get inside the city and find out what you can. Don't make any moves until I arrive however."

"How long will you be?"

"Two months."

"Madara-sama will not be pleased."

"His happiness does not concern me. We are in the together. A god does not kneel to the whims of any man. Even the immortal Madara." He nodded one to Kohan. "Make it so." And he vanished between the drops of rain.

The female nin looked back at the body behind her. Jiriya's cold form held up by her origami. He briefly touched the face oh so gently. In the rain you couldn't tell that she was crying. 'So much pain' she thought. Another figure swirled and started to ruse from one of the puddles at the top of the spire. Kohan looked over, still not a flicker of emotion crossing her gentle yet harsh features.

The figure that appeared was as always beautiful. Long dark red hair flowing down around a pale face, falling on a soft yellow kimono. Always yellow. Every garment she wore. At her side where two katana, a long and a short one. A soft small hand resting on the hilt on one, while the other reached out to touch Jiriya's cheek.

"His death is a great set back." The figure said almost chocking on the word 'death.' "Could you not have warned me before Pain began the fight? I could have interfered.

"No. Things moved too rapidly and I dare not take the chance. You should not be here as it is. He was strong enough to have escaped. He chose his death, for some reason neither of us know."

The woman nodded and looked at Kohan. "How much time does Naruto have?"

"Two months at most."

"Will you give him aid?" Kohan scoffed at that question.

"I will not go against a god for some boy I care nothing about. You should resign yourself to his death. Pain is inevitable."

The woman's features tightened. "Naruto is stronger than you think, he will overcome him."

Kohan just smiled at that. "It is not a matter of strength. Pain still has 'that' technique. That so called strength you say the boy has is what will work against him. He will die. Focus on stopping the ritual, not saving the boy."

The yellow clad figure took a stop forward tightening her fist. Kohan took a step back startled at this unusual display of anger and quickly prepared a jutsu in case the woman struck out at his.

"Naruto will never fail, he has too much his father in him to do so."

"Fool. Pain is a god anything he wants he makes so usually with force. Don't deviate from the plan at this point." Kohan said.

The woman turned to leave, but before disappearing in a swirl of waters she looked back.

"He will get to my son over my dead body Kohan. He wont have Naruto." And she was gone.

'Kushina' Kohan thought. 'It will happen over your dead body' then she too was gone with Jiriya's body in a flutter of paper.

-

* * *

**A/N**

-These chapters are getting longer and longer it seems, but I am having fun.  
-If you are disappointed about Nar/Hin getting together like that I am sorry, but cna anyone honestly see those two even being able to function or do anything in a romantic setting? Naruto wouldn't recognize it for what it was and Hinata would just stutter and run away, it seemed the best way to throw them together, jsut have it happen so fast that the two couldnt think about it too mcuh till it was too late to turn back

-Yes I really wanted to bring Naruto's mother into the fold. I never liked the thought of orphans and how hard it must be for them, I just want to give Naruto one of his parents back and it cant be his father for obvious reasons.

-Like always please post a review so I know what is going on.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5 In the wake of memories

**-IMPORTANT- I am in dire need of anyone who knows some Japanese. **I hate using american words to say a jutsu and would appriciate anyone who might be able to beta read my chapters and help me out.  
thanks.

-

* * *

Chapter 5

In the wake of memories

Naruto and Kakashi walked into the Hokage's office with a swift step. Naruto being, well Naruto, flung open the door and strode in like a God. "All right! Let's do this!" He halted as he saw not only Tsunade and Shikimaru, but that crabby old toad and a new one that seemed fused into some long pillar with seals covering its length.

"Naruto, Kakashi. Please take a seat." They wandered to the open chairs. Naruto look askance to the two toads. Something is going on.

"That girl said the message was broken." Naruto spoke up. The Toad and Tsunade looked at each other before nodding to the boy. Tsunade turned to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru. What will be said here must NEVER be repeated again. You will not even hint or provide innuendos to people of what you will learn. None of you will." Her steely eye looked to everyone. "The penalty of breaking this vow will be death or banishment. Is this understood?"

Everyone looked shocked that she would even mention the word death. It just never seemed to be in her vocabulary. They nodded numbly.

"Now then with everyone agreed. Shikamaru, you are going to learn things about our history that hasn't been spoke of in a long time. More specifically you are going to learn things about Naruto's past. Now being his friend I want you to reserve judgment and think about who is and all you have seen from him, no matter how horrible it might make you feel. Can you do this?"

Naruto Shifted in his chair. 'What does my nine-tails being sealed inside of me have to do with this?' he wondered, but remained silent. Shikamaru kept looking between the two of them.

"If you're talking about Naruto having the nine-tailed fox inside of him I already figured it out." Everyone looked stunned.

"H-How?" Naruto asked.

"Well it was pretty simple. We all know what the goal of Akatsuki is and we knew that you left for three years to train after meeting up with Itachi, who is, sorry, was one of their members. So like I said simple."

"Oh." Naruto said. Tsunade just shook her head and admired the young genius for a moment.

"Ok then. Now to the message." She continued. Shikamaru took out a scroll and unraveled it.

"Using the hints that Naruto was able to give us we unraveled the rather large message. I have never seen any kind of code this involved and impressive before. We have already started to incorporate versions of it in our new documents. Anyways here is what it said once completely unraveled."

He quoted the paper. **"Real one is not with them. Rain country. Former students. The key is in the beginning!"**

Naruto just stared in confusion. It was gibberish. "But what the Hell does that mean?" he exclaimed. "Its gibberish!"

Tsunade sighed and looked down at her desk, hands folded in front of her. "We don't know that part, but some things we have been able to figure out." She said. "We have a name to the Leader of the organization now. Pain. As far as former Rain country students there is something I remember from long ago. It was during the War with the rain country. Jiriya myself and Orochimaru were in the front lines of the decisive battle. It was the toughest fight we had ever been in. The great Salamander Hanzo was there and no one was pulling any stops. To make a long story short as the battle winding down it was just us and Hanzo. The fight was long and furious. Hanzo is, to say it simply, probably the strongest Shinobi on the planet, everyone knows of him and his strength. He is unbeatable. His summons were powerful, his Jutsu massive and effective and his taijutsu second to none." She took a deep breath before continuing. We were exhausted and injured with just a flicker of chakra left from facing him. "He however after all that fighting for hours was still strong, we hadn't a hope of beating him. He spared us however. He said that we were strong and in exchange for our lives we would forever more refer to ourselves as the Sannin, for having the strength to stand toe to toe with him. That is how we got our name and our legend."

Tsunade took a drink of sake' before continuing. On our way to the village in victory we ran into three kids from Rain country. They were almost feral and staring, begging or stealing food. Their family and friends had all been killed in the war. Jiriya and I took pity on them and gave them food. Orochimaru wanted to kill them to spare them suffering. Jiriya always one to go against anything 'Ochi' had to say refused and stayed behind with the kids for over a year to train them. When he finally came back, he was disturbed and retired as a village Shinobi to go wandering and to see the world. We were all pretty done with the war at that point as peace talks began to ensue. We all went our separate ways. I left, Ochi stayed behind in his pursuit of Hokage and more jutsu, and Jiriya went to study with the Great Toad Sage, on some mountain." She glanced the shriveled little frog. The thing took over at this point.

"Jiriya was a great pupil. The Sage thinks of himself as some prophet and made a lot of predictions. Mainly he told Jiriya that he would has a destined child as a student and that child would change the world for good or bad based on his teaching. And that he would travel the world and write a book or some nonsense. During the fight with Pain he believed that Pain might have been the destined child he taught who had taken the wrong path."

Naruto was stunned to say the least of hearing the past of the Sannin revealed at last. "Wow. So this Pain has the Rin'negan and is going to destroy the world?" He looked at the toad.

"No Naruto. Jiriya had it mixed up fo' a long time. Pain isn't the destined child."

"This who is?" Naruto asked.

"You are." The small toad hermit replied gravely.

Naruto just stared at him with his jaw hanging down. "Me?" The frog nodded. "Nah! You got it wrong! You have to. I don't want to be some great destined thing! I just want to be Hokage."

"That isn't up to you Naruto. You wont seek it, you wont try for it, but that is why if will be you. Who you are and your choices will lead to it. It isn't something you can evade. If you win, you will do great things. If you fall to Akatsuki the world will be lead into ruin. You can not falter in this Naruto. More than just the Hidden village will suffer if you do. Everyone you helped, or want to help and protect will suffer and die."

Naruto didn't know what to say. He just hung his head as this burden just fell on him and he tried to sort through his feelings. Kakashi spoke up at this point.

"Fukasaku-sama. What did the message mean about real one not being there? What can you tell us about his fight with Pain?"

"This Pain is something else. We never saw anything like it. At first there were three of them. All of them had the Rin'negan, which we thought impossible at the time. We noticed that each had some special technique, but what was more troublesome was that whatever one saw they all saw. We couldn't get in behind them no matter what. They had no blind spots or weakness except one. Genjutsu. So me and ma' performed a powerful Illusion that allowed Jiriya to split them up and each of them. We thought we had the fight finished but suddenly three more show up and brought the others back to life somehow. I mean not healed, just straight out brought them back to life. So then we sat staring at six of them. All with the same voice and same eyes. It was one mind in six bodies, not matter how we wanted to think otherwise."

Everyone just sat there stunned. 'One mind with six bodies' Naruto thought. "But that would be impossible to beat!" he said. "Your talking about six strong ninja being perfectly balanced for any situation with perfect teamwork and no way to surprise them!" perfect timing and perfect teamwork is better than even I can do with my clones!"

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "I concur. It would be most troublesome. If a team works perfectly together, no matter the strength of the enemy they will win. If they all share the same thoughts and in addition they are all as skilled as they seem then they would be almost unbeatable."

Everyone looked very troubled at this statement, they knew it was true.

"You said almost though Shikamaru. What would it take to beat something like that?" Tsunade asked.

The young chunnin thought for a moment. "Well without really seeing their abilities if there are six of them then you would need at least three times their number to overwhelm and split them up. Each member of the platoon would need to be very skilled and the teams would need to work significantly well together to counter the teamwork of this Pain. It would require very special training and time to pull off. That's also if there are only six of them. Who knows how many there could be. If we went with eighteen and he comes with ten then our team will get slaughtered. I don't see how we can effectively plan an assault unless we send every jounin against him, that would be impossible Too many on the battlefield against one enemy would just interfere with the effectiveness and cause needless deaths. I can't see how something like that can be beat."

"You're wrong." Naruto said quietly. Everyone turned to him. "There is always a weakness and that is what this message told us. Jiriya would know it would be impossible to beat so he told us how in the message."

"How Naruto?" the head hermit asked.

"The real one isn't there, Jiriya said. That means this Pain wanted to keep that body safe. That's the key." Naruto looked up his eyes a blazing blue his fists were clenched. "If we find the real one, he won't be guarded by all those bodies. It is the link. Take out the real one and the rest will fall!" The blond said with authority.

Everyone looked at the boy with shock. The head hermit and Shikamaru nodded. 'Naruto…when did you get so smart?' Tsunade thought. Kakashi smiled behind his mask. 'The training is showing at last.'

"So now lets go over the last part. **'The key is in the beginning'. **If anything that is so vague that we might never know what it means." Naruto continued.

Tsunade looked over to the frog on the pole. "You're a key. Does this have anything to do with you?" She asked.

"No."

Tsunade's vein popped. "Aren't you a fount of information?" The pole sniffed and looked away.

She sighed and addressed the group. "We have two main priorities at the moment gentlemen. Finding Pain's real body and finding some clue to the last part of the message." She looked at the genius chunnin. "Pick one person you trust to help you with this. No one else. Remember no one knows about Naruto, reveal only what you must. Now let's discuss this and figure something out."

They spent the rest of the time talking about the message and how to find Pain's real body. They couldn't figure anything out and Shikamaru promised to get a force together to infiltrate the rain country to come up with something. As they were leaving the Head Hermit asked for Naruto to wait a moment. Everyone left the two alone including Granny-Tsunade.

"Naruto. You see the pillar here?" Naruto looked at the long pole with the frog on the top glaring at him.

"Yeah? What about it." The old toad laughed at the kid's attitude.

"I like you Naruto! You have spunk. Well there is something you should know. This here is the Key to your seal. It can release or restrain the nine-tails if used correctly.

"You shouldn't be telling the boy this! He isn't ready for me!" The key said.

"You shut it! Jiriya-chan wanted the boy to have you and have you he will!" Fukasaku scolded. "Now Naruto he is right. You are not ready to use him, but for now you must be his keeper. No one else can be trusted with it."

"I don't understand. Key to the seal? Why would anyone want to let the thing out? And why does the beast need retrained anymore? I thought it couldn't get out." Naruto was worried on both accounts. The idea of the Kyuubi getting out of him and never crossed his thoughts.

"Well you see Naruto. The demon is different than the other bijuu. The nine-tails is the strongest and smartest of all of them. In the ages old tale, they used to fight one another. None could withstand the nine tails, it defeated all of them. The only one that could fight it for any length of time is said to have been the eight tales. The Kyuubi has infinite chakra, can not be harmed and can cause massive destruction. Something like that cant be held indefinitely without breaking out. That is one of the functions of this key. If needed it can reinforce the seal to stop it from breaking free and killing you."

"Killing me?"

"Yes. You see Minato didn't want the Kyuubi ever to return or get out. SO the seal is special. It has intertwined both your souls together. That is how you are able to speak with it. In time Naruto you will have to battle the kyuubi in a test of will. If you win the Kyuubi's soul will forever be submissive with you gaining all its chakra. If you lose then the Kyuubi will dominate and rend apart your soul to be reborn again in one hundred year."

Naruto thought this through but couldn't come up with anything. "I still don't understand what all that means." The key spoke up this time.

"It means Naruto that if you overcome the Kyuubi at that pivotal moment when you die the nine-tails will die with you and stay dead. You see I am meant to perform a very special Jutsu. The jutsu that will unleash all the Kyuubi's chakra into your power allowing you to turn into the beast, but have full control and awareness of your actions. You are not ready for that however. If we did that you would free the soul of the kyuubi as well as its chakra and it would be free to terrorize the world once more."

Naruto gawked at the very notion of being able to full control that irritable old fox and gain all its power without letting it loose. "W-Wow."

"Don't even think about it kid. Your years from that point. The only reason we are telling you at this point is so you understand the importance of your guardianship."

"You mentioned something like that earlier. How exactly am I supposed to guard something like you! You big, load, and I have to travel and fight a lot. Wouldn't the Hokage be a better one to guard it? She has to stay here."

"Well I agree she would be, but Jiriya gave strict instructions that you are to guard me. I wouldn't worry about the size thing, I will be inside of you."

"………….."

"What?" said the key.

"…………."

"Say something damnit! This is a great responsibility isn't it."

"Does this idea have anything to do with my being able to down like ten bowls of Ramen? My stomach isn't that big you know."

Both the toads drooped at that comment. 'This kid was Jiriya's pupil' thought the head hermit. 'This kid is supposed to guard me?' thought the key.

The head hermit sighed and shook his head at Naruto. "No you idiot. You will use a simple space/time jutsu to shrink it down and contain it in a separate realm inside your body. I won't get into specifics, but you won't feel a think with it being there and be able to call it back at a moments notice. I will teach you the seals, they are easy. And then you swallow the key."

Naruto looked like he didn't quite believe this. "Just one thing before we do this. Why did the Yodaime pick me?"

The two looked to each other. The key spoke up. "The 4th made me about two days before he sealed the nine-tails within you. He never mentioned any reasons, He just said one thing." Naruto waited with baited breath. "Because of the book."

Naruto felt crushed. He expected some big revelation. "Book? What does a book have to do with him cursing me like this.?"

"Jiriya's book kid! His first book wasn't that trash he wrote later. It was a masterpiece and its main character was named Naruto. You were named after the character in the book! I do have to say you really are exactly alike!"

Naruto froze, he couldn't breath, his legs were shaking and his heart hammered. "Named?" He whispered. "You know who named me?" The head hermit blinked at that.

"Named? What are you what are you talking about? No one knows who your parents were, just that you have the same name as in the book."

Naruto felt a cold rage rise up inside of him. He clenched his fist and his eyes shifted to a deep crimson, he let loose a feral snarl. "LIAR!" he took a step forward. The two toads grew alarmed and Tsunade rushed into the room when she felt the sudden rise in chakra.

"Naruto! Calm down what is the matter?" He turned on her so suddenly with a look of such rage her heart fluttered and she took a step back in surprise. "Naruto!"

"You know don't you?" he spat out the accusation, spittle flying from his lips. "Someone named me after that character and you know who don't you?" Tsunade's face grew grim.

"Naruto," she said quietly. "This isn't the time or place for that discussion." Her shot a fierce promising gaze at the head toad hermit who looked down in embarrassment. "It isn't what you think."

"YOU DID KNOW!" He accused. A flare of chakra knocked everyone in the room to the ground. Shizune rushed into the room and gasped at the sight. When Tsunade gathered her self and looked at him, Naruto was crouched on the ground ready to pounce, already there was a second tail forming. "BETRAYERS!" He cried, bloody tears leaking from his eyes. "ALONE! BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Tsunade did the only thing she could think of at the time. She rushed to Naruto gathering her chakra into her fist. The kid took a swing at her, but the Sannin ducked under it as the red chakra rent a slash into the wall knocking Shizune to the side. Tsunade came up and punched Naruto in the stomach releasing her Chakra at the same moment. Naruto's eyes bulged out and he fought a losing battle with consciousness and fell to the ground out cold. The chakra gradually receded and faded away. Tsunade looked at her hand and shook it. The skin was lightly burned from touching the chakra that had formed around his body.

"How did this happen?" she snapped at the two started toads. "What did you tell him?"

"Gah! We just mentioned that he was named after a character in Jiriya's book! The boy is so slow, we didn't even think we needed to be that careful around him." The Sannin closed her eyes and opened them looking down at the blond. "Shizune!"

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Take Naruto back to his apartment. I am going to wipe his memory of this, but have an ANBU watch him for a couple days to make sure he doesn't recall anything." Her assistant nodded and went to get help to move the kid. The medic-nin knelt down by the boy and made a long string of seals. He hand glowed slightly from the chakra and she touched his temple her brows furrowed in concentration. After a little under three minutes she removed her hand and stood up.

"There that should be about right. You two!" She addressed the Head Hermit and the Key. "You should go to Naruto's apartment and wait for him to wake up. Give some excuse for his blackout and him being there and do what you came do." She gave them her famous glare and even the esteemed Head Hermit Toad nodded in respect to her orders. With a flurry of green the Hokage turned and left the room.

-

--

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Sasuke opened his eyes as two of his summoned snakes return and slithered up to him. "We have fffound what you ssssseek Massssster." One of them said. The Uchiha reached down and touched the serpent on the head and a flood of images poured into his mind. A very large opening seep in the swamp, built by man and a Raven haired woman with an evil glint to her eye walking in. The avenger smiled tightly and dismissed the summons without a word and stood up. The rest of 'Hawk' looked over at him.

"I found her. Let's move." He ordered. The others nodded and gathered their things.

"'bout damn time." Suigetsu said. "We have just been waiting here for several hours!"

"Well it is a large swamp idiot. These things don't happen in a flash." Karin just had to voice her opinion. Sasuke closed his eyes and suppressed the urge to just kill them both.

"Eh Sasuke! You said her ability isn't worth a damn here. Why don't you just let me take her head and be done with the bitch!" His hand tightened around his beheading sword.

"Ha!" Karin laughed. "With your skills the only 'head' you can get is from a blind old beggar!"

"That does it you boney little book-worm!" The sword man rushed at the woman and she crouched with an eager smile on her face. As his sword swung down his wrist was grabbed by Sasuke and Karin was kicked away into the cliff, her breath exploding out of her.

"I will only say this once. If I feel the point needs to be repeated it will result in one of your deaths. You annoy me. Shut up." He shoved the fearful sword man back and started to walk into the swamp.

'Oh my Sasuke-kun! You are so cool!" Karin thought and leapt up after her infatuation. No one really said a word as they headed into the swamp.

It took about four hours till they found the clearing with the entrance. Sasuke thought it look suspiciously like one of Orochimaru's hide outs. "Be ready for anything. She is very dangerous. We work as a team on this one. I and Suigetsu will flank and strike. Juugo and Karin watch our backs in case she gets behind us somehow. You will set aside your grudges and do the job. No backstabbing for this. Understand? He didn't even look back at the team and just peered into the torch-lit dimness. He could feel the nods of his subordinates behind him. They started into the interior.

The hallways were dank and wet. Pattern after patter of snakes and various other serpents like creatures decorated every inch of the walls. They didn't make a sound with their steps, but they still felt like they were being too loud. There was an eerie silence just the soft fluttering of the torches. Every now and then they could see snakes slither in and out of holes in the wall, but for some reason even those did not make the expected sounds or even hiss. They reach an intersection that split off into three other directions, about twenty feet down each tunnel it dead ended.

"What now Sasuke-kun?" Karin said in a low whisper. Her eyes darting every way, her body tense and ready to spring when needed.

"We go up."

"How do you know?"

This was one of Orochimaru's old hide-outs that he abandoned long ago. There is a clever Genjutsu laced into the hallways. We have been heading deeper into a maze even though it seemed like we were not changing level. She knows we are here and is waiting for us in the audience chamber directly over us. I went this way to avoid the traps that have been laid. Juugo. Make a hole."

The silent behemoth nodded and took a breath slammed his hands together and jumped up double punch through the ceiling. When the hole cleared the team darted through to the floor above. The dust settled and they found themselves in a green field with flowers as far as the eye could see. In front of them sat a stunning woman. He long raven hair fell to the floor in twenty for strands intricately women into eight braids. She wore a kimono that was black as night. Silver seals glimmered at the ends of the sleeves. The bottom of her outfit stretch about four feet behind her and was split into eight even sections. The end of each slice broadened slightly and there was a silver Seal on each, where each of her long dark braids was attached to. In her hand twirled a nasty looking whip with the end split into eight pieces. Each held chakra infused blades on the tip.

He eyes narrows. She had a lovely face Sasuke noted. Eyes that were as devoid and devious as his own. Eyes that promised pain for the intruders.

"That was…an interesting entrance I must say." Her harmonic voice echoed. "I hadn't expected you to come that way. However did you know where to go and to avoid the traps?"

Sasuke tilted his head. "I was taught by the man who built this place and laid those traps. This is an impressive Genjutsu. An improvement over what really is here."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Not many can see through my Illusions, how did you...ah you must be an Uchiha. They are the only ones I have ever met that can see through them."

Sasuke didn't say anything. Suigetsu however had to chime in. "Wow Sasuke she is pretty hot. It is going to be a pleasure taking that pretty head."

"Pervert." Karin said.

"Whatever, with what you say you want to do to Sasuke in your sleep, you shouldn't be talking." Karin looked at Sasuke nervously.

"Ehehe. Don't listen to him Sasuke-kun!" 'LISTEN TO HIM! LISTEN TO HIM!' She screamed in her mind.

"I am sure she is all very amusing, but I will offer you all this once chance to leave. If you stay I will kill every single one of you." The Jinkuurki spoke. "You," She pointed to Suigetsu. "Will live long enough for me to squeeze every scream and drop of blood your body can take, for your disrespect to me. To think that a disgusting weak thing like you would address me so!"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and took out his sword. "Yap yap yap. How about I take what I want from that sexy hide of yours and then, then we can talk about squeezing."

"Suigetsu stop." Sasuke said quietly.

"Bah! Fuck that!" The temperamental nin yelled. "This will only take a minute!" He dashed toward the eight-tails container twirling his sword in a rapid motion. Water seemed to scream out of the edge. The lady smirked. Before the sword man could see what happened her whip uncoiled and with a flick of her wrist it snapped up and severed the man's sword hand off. The blade went flying through the air. Astonished he still was charging while watching his blade escape him when he felt a pressure in his chest. He looked down to see a set of pure black eyes. No iris just a black sheen almost like a mirror. Farther down he saw her arm reaching through his chest, punching and almost ripping out his lung.

"You are unworthy" she said in that sensual voice, her hot breath whispering across his skin as she pulled her hand out. Suigetsu slowly fell to the ground and laid still.

Karin's and Juugo's eyes bulged at this amazing display. 'I knew he was weak, but damn this girl is good!' Karin thought. She crotched low and looked at the woman across from her with a little trepidation. Juugo felt a twitch in his eye and a familiar urge start to claw in his chest.

"How thoughtless of me." The woman said. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Na'omi. I am, above all!" Without warning she quickly performed ten seals so fast it looked like one. A Dragons' head made of mud rush from the field and fired several projectiles at the remaining trio. Karin leapt into the air narrowly avoiding them, Juugo got hit in the stomach and went flying back rolling around the ground moaning in pain. Sasuke, just moved left and right like the mud bullets were moving in slow motion.

Karin threw a trio of kunai while flipping through the air. Forming her hand seals she brought two tips of her fingers to her mouth and blew a sharp breath. The air caught up to the kunai and suddenly they raced forward triple the speed the air around them seemed to swirl in sharp circles. Karin's grin turned into a look of astonishment as instead of Na'omi Juugo was there struggling to rise. "WHAT THE!" her kunai tore into the berserker nin twisting him viciously around spraying blood all other the place. Karin felt a sharp bite on her ankle as she fell back down from her original flip to avoid the dragon jutsu. She looked down to see the wipe wrapped her leg, its blades cutting into her skin. She was jerked through the air and landed with a crash, her body twitching. Stunned, from the force. A sharp kick to the head knocked her out.

Na'omi looked over to Sasuke who was watching the furious little exchange impassively. She smiled. "You're a cool one aren't you. Why didn't you help your friends? It is just you and me now."

Sasuke didn't answer right away. He looked over at Juugo. "A replacement with a living person. Impressive normally impossible with an enemy concentrating, but with the disorientation from the earth jutsu, you were able to pull it off. It does consume a vast amount of chakra to do that however. A waste when you are outnumbered."

Na'omi clapped softly. "Those Uchiha eyes never cease to amaze me. They see so much. Why don't you tell your friends to stop playing around. They are not fooling anyone, and it is an insult to think that they are."

"Kukuku." Suigetsu rumbled as his body slowly melted into slush and reformed. Juugo rose from under the ground unharmed and Karin's shadow clone vanished into a puff of smoke, only for her to be found floating in the air, a current of wind holding her up.

"Wow she is good Sasuke. You were right that she needed to find out her speed and strength first. If we had really charged in we would have been dead." Suigetsu said in his first praise of Sasuke.

The trio formed behind Sasuke as he took a step toward her. "You can not win." He said in his dead-pan voice. "My eyes will conquer you."

Na'omi smirked. "Brat! You think you're the first Sharingan user that I have met up with? Those eyes are strong, but none of the others have defeated me and neither will you. A simple jutsu and some flicks of my wipe decimated your little distraction. I have a power you could only dream about."

"Yes." Sasuke replied. "The Yamata no Orochi." The silence was deafening as her eyes narrowed and she stared hard at the Uchiha.

"Akatsuki." She said softly, her stance changing slightly.

"We do indeed have an affiliation with that organization, but we are otherwise referred to as 'Hawk'." Sasuke replied.

"Either way I will die before I let you take me. I heard all about how you need Jinkuurki alive for some reason. If by some miracle you defeat me, I will spoil your plans!" She spat.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Then it seems…that we must not give you the choice." He vanished to appear behind the woman. 'So fast!' She thought. She twisted her him and pulled out a short blade from her side and blocked Sasuke's sword strike.

"Impressive." He said. "My sword of Kusanagi isn't supposed to be blockable by a blade." He pushed with strength against her.

She let a feral little grin out. "Those swords, were formed from the fangs of my bijuu. Wouldn't a brother fang be able to block one?" Sasuke's eye twitch. With a single hand seal he sent a chidori shock through the blades and up her arm.

"Ayyeeee!" She screamed in pain. Suigetsu seeing his chance rushed from behind her. Karin pressed her hands together and touched his blade as she passed by. The blade suddenly glowed as she applied wind chakra to it. It wouldn't last long, but long enough for him to cleave that bitch in two. With a sudden surge of chakra he swung the blade as fast as he could. Naomi suddenly sank partway into the ground the blade going over her head. Sasuke had to leap back quickly to avoid getting gutted by the sword. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Suigetsu didn't have a chance to say anything as he was thrown away by a palm thrush from the raven haired Dotun user. She rose from the ground as Sasuke charged again. Flicking her wipe she kept him at bay, slicing open his shoulder.

Karin sensing an opening as the Kunochi's back was turned charged in, her wind element forming in her hand to slice open her enemy's spine, paralyzing her. She got in close, one of the braids whipped up and slapped her across the jaw sending her rolling. 'Ow! That bitch has blades in her hair!' as she felt the razor cut along her cheek. She looked back to see Sasuke trying furiously under the range of the woman's whip. She started to stand up when she swooned. 'Poison!' She thought. 'Oh shit!' She reached into her pouch and drew out a vial injecting her self with the anti-venom. Madara had warned them of the poisons and how lethal they were. 'Thank god for immortal know it alls!' she briefly thought as she rushed back into the battle her seals already forming.

Juugo watched silently biding his time. His style of fighting and jutsu wear not good with team mates close by. He would risk hurting them if he moved in right now, so he waited.

Sasuke was getting frustrated. For some reason he couldn't read her movements in her eyes. That black film was preventing them somehow. He knew it was somehow done with her chakra as she didn't have those eyes till she figured out his blood-line. He had to get a hand on her or a slice from his chidori charged sword to disrupt whatever was causing her to block his Sharingan. That damn whip just kept moving so fast, not to mention the mud bullets that she kept firing from her mouth. He saw Karin moving in from the corner of his eye. Leaping back he quickly formed his seals and breathed a ball of fire at the Jinkuurki.

Karin smiled at his tactics in reading the seals she was forming. She leapt over the top of the fireball and as she was sailing over the center she released her jutsu. A sharp blast of wind, with cutting edges lanced down. When it hit the fireball the ball flattened and expanded outwards like a nova as the wind tripled the fires strength. When Karin landed on the ground far tot eh right of Sasuke as the fireball cleared. Na'omi was no where to be seen. Karin's eyes popped as she sensed the woman's chakra under them. "UNDER US!" She cried.

Sasuke and Karin leapt into the air as the woman's braids punched through the ground and tried to grab them. 'Shit' Karin thought. 'Fuck that damn hair do. Juugo saw his chance when Karin informed them that the enemy was in the ground. Taking a breath he let that killing urge take over.

"Must … kill…now!" His skin took on a grayish coloring and his eyes grew wide, filled with blood-lust. With a primal and sickening laugh he charged into battle forming his seals. He slammed his hands into the ground. With a vibration and a rumble the earthquake tore the earth into chunks. Mashing them all together to kill or injure whatever was in the ground. Thinking he had killed the woman he turned to Karin with a manic gleam in his eyes and charged. He could see the surprised and worried look in her eye as he closed in and it just excited him more.

When he was halfway to her a mountain of large pythons erupted from the ground and fell on top of him. He could feel the bites and poison start to course through him. He laughed and expelled a large blast of chakra knocking most of them away. Still more came out of the hole and more, biting and wrapping around him crushing.

Sasuke watched and pressed his lips together watching Juugo falling under the sea of serpents. He knew that technique and used to be able to pull it off when Orochimaru was inside of him. He was reasonably certain that Juugo would be dead soon. He saw Suigetsu out of the corner of his eye. He was just standing there holding his sword concentrating chakra into it. 'What is he doing?' He turned back to the mountain of sakes that was easily fifty feet high now.

"Karin. Knock down that pile a bit." The woman nodded and shifted her stance. She swung bow hands in a side swipe expelling her chakra at the same time. A large and heavy gust of wind sped towards the snakes when it hit the mountain crumbled along the ground, although not killing many of them, it got the serpents where he wanted them. Clasping his hands together he cried out his jutsu in a powerful voice. "KATON: Sea of crashing Flames!" He breathed out a huge wave of flames. It spread out and rolled along the ground like waves of water, incinerating the snakes.

Karin performing the combo again jumped into the air and over the center where the snakes came from She threw her wind element into the fire. This time the fires flared and sank in the cracks of the earth made by Juugo's earth quake. It seemed a shame to do this since Juugo was in there, but hey sacrifices had to be made. They heard a high pitched scream of agony and a blast of powerful chakra expelled the flames and pieces of rock flew in all directions.

Na'omi rose from the ground like a vengeful goddess. The front of his kimono was burned away and her arms and face were blistered. A green chakra pulled around her as she hovered a little off the broken ground.

"You…you. I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" She screamed. She started to furiously form a very long series of hand seal each hand doing a different on. Sasuke noticed that is resembled a summoning only on a much more grand scale. His eyes grew wide.

"NOW SEIGETSU!" The former mist-nin's eyes flew open and he charged, roaring all the way. His sword dragging behind him glowing a bright white. With all his strength he swung the sword slamming it into the green chakra aura that surrounded the Jinkuurki body. The two forces struggled for several seconds. Thankfully it interrupted her summon before she could convert to her full bijuu form. With a crack that was audible through the entire complex both the blade and the chakra shield shattered. The detonation threw everyone to the ground. Sasuke shielded his eyes and saw Suigetsu and Karin moaning on the ground. Looking past them he saw Na'omi struggling to her feet. With his Sharingan he noticed that her eyes no longer had that black mirroring effect. 'Now is the chance!' He grinned and his eyes swiftly changed to the Mangekyou Sharingan.

He used a replacement jutsu on a bonder that was by Naomi to get there before she could see him coming. She looked up startled and made the mistake of meeting his eyes.

Na'omi couldn't believe she was working so hard on these kids. Their teamwork was amazing and worked well together. That fucking Uchiha and his fire and that bitch of a wind-user burned her pretty bad. It had been close to ten year since she had felt pain like that. She was angry, she was seriously pissed. 'Time to end this. They want a Bijuu, then I will show them a Bijuu. Imagine her surprise when her seal opening was interrupted by that damn horney prick and that far too large sword slamming into her. Even more amazing was that his technique shattered Yamato's chakra scales.

"Ok." She muttered struggling to her feet. "You ass holes want to fight, I will give you a fight." She began to concentrate on activating the seals on her robes and braids for Soul, Devil and Death when the Uchiha kid suddenly appeared before her. She looked up in surprise and though. 'Oh shit.' Her world spun away in a shattering swirl of colors.

She opened her eyes to find herself in some weird place. It looked a lot like the hide-out but different. Instead of snakes on the walls, she saw pictures of her dying in thousands of different ways. She shuddered.

"How do you like my world?" Naomi tried to twist around to face the voice but found that she was chained to her throne. Sasuke came into view.

"What the hell is this place? Where are we?" She asked with wide eyes.

"This? Don't worry about its name. Just know what here, a second in the real word is 48 hours worth of pain here." Her eyes bulged out as she felt herself split into a hundred and over a thousand Sasuke's appeared. She saw the smile on his face and for the first time since she was driven out of her village she felt hopeless and afraid.

"Let's… begin…" Sasuke said and a thousand of him descended on her.

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**A/N**

-Wow what a long chapter. I got into the fight scene and just couldn't stop writing. It was so much fun. I had about 100 ideas to make that fight last longer, but I noticed that At Shinobi of that level it is usually the first mistake that proved fatal rather than just dangerous like at the Gennin and Chuunin levels.

-I havnt read too many fics where people really give Naruto some real teenage emotion when it comes to his parents. Most make him into some killer that gets his mind warped by being deserted, or they just make him be like 'oh. wow me? thats cool I guess.' That always makes me mad. He is a teenage boy when hormones amplify any strong emotion, so I a, goign to ahev to write he finding out really well. It is after-all one of the most pivital points in an orphan's life to find out who his/her parents are

- Yes I used part of the cannon message. and added some of my own. It originally ended with a warning about Madara, but ddint really see how vague thought Jiriya was having earlier would go onto a dying message. so I went with that key is in the beginning stuff. You will eventually start to see a little of what that means, as I thread the conspiracy plot together.

- As always please leave honest reviews of the story and my writing.


	6. Chapter 6 A matter of heart

**A/N** -

So sorry for the long update. it took a rewrite of the chapter as the first one was jsut terrible. I hope this one is much better.  
-This is the last major relationship development chapter. After this we will deal more with his training, new Jutsu ,the completed FRS, and the coming of Atasuki.

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**Chapter 6**

**A matter of heart**

Karin peeked over as Sasuke appeared in front of the demon bitch. 'Oh man whatever that prick did fucking hurt' she though. She struggled to her feet then she heard a cry. She looked up to see Sasuke on the ground holding his head, screaming and then he colapsed. "Sasuke-kun!" she tried to get up but a boot was planted into her side and she fell again. She looked over her shoulder as she felt a heel being pressed against her back.

"Did you really think you could defeat me? I will admit that genjutsu of his, from his sharingan is powerful, but I have a bijuu within me, it's power and mind snapped his like a twig." Naomi leaned down and whispered in Karin's ear. "I will spare you and your boyfriend, because you are actually worth something. Snakes aren't without mercy, they just don't like to waste a bite when two gets the point across very well."

"Two?" Karin gurgled. The Jinkuurki smiled. She looked over her shoulder to see that the sword swinging prick was up and trying to sneak up on her. Na'omi smiled and with a chakra infused burst of speed she appeared in front of Suigetsu, who wasn't ready for that. She grabbed his wrist, and his throat and with another surge of chakra a blindingly intense bout of electricity poured into the man. Karin just watched helplessly. Suigetsu seemed to float in the air, his arms spread wide and his head and body were arched back, like a sacrificial angel. His sword fell from his grasp, with a noting ring. The technique went on and on for, what Karin felt, almost a minute.

'Impossible." Karin muttered. She struggled to get up but found she couldn't, she was in some kind of immobilizing jutsu. She looked to Sasuke who was out cold, whatever happened he was out of the fight. She couldn't believe that. Sasuke was so strong and cool. 'How could that bitch beat him?'. The bright light flaring from her team mate ended and she looked over. Slowly she saw his body turn to ash. From his toes, then his calf's, then his knees and legs, when the destruction reached his torso the rest of him simply broke apart and felt to the floor in a pile of dust.

The eight-tails container, then walked over to Juugo. Who was under a pile of snake ashes. She knelt down and turned the body over to make sure he was dead. His back was burned black, his chest and face though where ok, but covered in hundred of venomous bites that distorted and turned his skin a sickly yellow and purple. "Your friend over here is dead as well. I will claim these two as my price and bounty for the insult of attacking and injuring me." Karin watched with wide eyes as the container made her way back to her.

"Why don't you released me you weird bitch and I will give you your price!" Karin stated. Na'omi just smiled and knelt down next to her face. Somehow during the fight all the burns and damage they did to the woman had been healed. Karin felt a soft smooth hand run up her leg and thigh.

"W-What the Hell are you doing?! Don't touch me!" Karin shrieked.

"I am showing you that if I wished I could take my bounty from your body. It would be…fantastic." She breathed in a low husky voice. Her touch and sensual voice sent shivers up Karin's back. Sasuke moaned. Naomi sighed and withdrew her hand, much to Karin's relief as it was almost at places it should not have been. "That's my cue to leave now. Tell your boyfriend this. The Akatsuki will never have all the bijuu's. I will go to Konoha. All of us knew about the Kyuubi container. It is the king and calls to us. I will go. Tell your masters that now they will have to deal with the Yamato No Orochi and the Kyuubi united. Tell them that if they come for us, they will die."

Naomi formed a series of hand seals; her braids struck out in eight points all around her, taking the seals and parts of her kimono with them. The seals of the cloth started to glow and suddenly the Jinkuurki was gone in the powerful flash of a teleportation Jutsu.

Karin had no idea what happened, but was indeed thankful for her life. She could move once more and she made her way to Sasuke who was just now starting to sit up. "Sasuke-kun! Thank god you're alright!"

His eyes glowed, a cold promising crimson from his bloodline when he looked up at her. "Where is she?"

Karin gulped and backed up a step. "She left. Suigetsu and Juugo are dead. She was weak and I drove her off, but wasn't able to kill her. She was about to do you in Sasuke-kun!" Karin felt a little fib like this couldn't hurt if it got Sasuke closer to her. She smiled at him with anticipation and licked her lips.

"You failed me then. If she was weak then you should have finished her off.

"Oh…well. I wouldn't say she was weak weak, just strong enough to kill you if you were knocked out." She was crushed by his denial.

"I wasn't knocked out." He replied rather sharply.

Karin was confused. "Then what happened?

"A…parting gift from my brother. I was locked in my own Illusion for several months."

"Months? But it was only a couple minutes at most.

Sasuke didn't look at her as he looked around the room. "It would take too long to explain." The genjutsu that made the place into a small paradise was gone. They were in a very large chamber almost entirely barren. The Uchiha stood up and looked around carefully.

"Can you sense which way she went?"

"No she left with some sort of space/time jutsu that erased all traces of her. She told me where she was going however."

He turned to the silly infatuated nin and gave her a hard look. "She what?"

Karin shrugged as if this was nothing. 'I love it when he gets all scary! It's so hot!' she thought. "She said she was going to the Leaf to join up with the Nine-tails. Narbutto.

"His name is 'Naruto'!" Sasuke snarled in one of his rare displays of emotion. Karin jumped slightly and looked as Sasuke oddly.

"Naruto then. I'm sorry Sasuke." What was that about? She wondered.

"We failed then. Madara will not be pleased, but at least we know that both targets will be in the same place." He started to walk out.

"Hey wait up! What about Juugo's body?" Sasuke ignored her and kept on walking, stopping only to pick up Suigetsu's sword. She sighed and followed him as they headed back to the Akatsuki base to report their failure.

**-**

**--**

**-**

The cave was warm and brightly lit with a behemoth of a stone table in the center. The figure that sat at its head looked unimposing, but studious, in its black cloak and trademark red cloud design. It was hunched over a scroll reading the contents, a ring was idly twirling in its fingers.

"Interesting seal configuration." It muttered softly as it studied. A soft sound was heard in a corner. It reached over and picked up it's spiral designed mask and placed it on his face.

"Report Zetsu." Madara commanded softly, but with authority.

"Hawk failed and suffered casualties." The powerful doton user said. Madara was very surprised at this. He knew the skills of the eight-tails as well as Sasuke's, the boy should have won. Something wasn't right.

"That should not be. Did Sasuke…betray us?" His voice took on a slightly deadly quality.

"I do not know. I observed him using the Tsykyomi when the chakra scales protecting the eight-tails eyes were disrupted by the mist kid, just like you said it would play out Madara-sama. However it seemed that Sasuke felt the full effects in some backfire. He was knocked out for several minutes, giving Na'omi time to kill Suigetsu and immobilize the girl. Sasuke later informed her that Itachi 'left a parting' give for him with his Sharingan." Zetsu finished and watched his master.

"I see. I did not expect Itachi to be that resourceful or insightful in protecting his brother. This will pose a setback, Sasuke will have to overcome whatever his brother did if we are to complete our plans. Get to Pain and tell him not to move against the nine tails yet. Tell him to track down the Yamoto instead and deal with that woman."

"We know where she went." Replied Zetsu.

"Oh?"

"Yes she stated she was going to the leaf to join up with the eight-tails. A united front of the remaining Bijuu's so to speak." Madara frowned at this. Most unexpected. The Jinkuurki have always stayed away from each other. A trait passed on from their Bijuu's hate for one another. Yamoto no Orochi and the Kyuubi are particularly aggressive to one another.

"This could be a blessing in disguise Zetsu." Madara spoke at last. "If we can somehow force both their Bijuu forms out at the same time then they would ignore everything else to the exclusion of killing each other. Na'omi wont be able to control the eight tail's actions if it senses the Kyuubi chakra manifesting close by. And then." Madara's smile grew positively evil behind his mask. "The Kyuubi chakra will break through the seal and the two containers will destroy the city in their fighting. Yes this is most pleasant." He laughed and Zetsu felt a pleasantly chilling shiver crawl up his spine at the sound."

**-**

**--**

**-**

Naruto couldn't seem to focus on his training. Yesterday evening he woke up after the meeting in his room with the worst headache he had ever had. The Head Toad Hermit had informed him that Gai charged through the door in some excitement and knocked Naruto out accidentally. Naruto thought this sounded strangely suspicious, but let it go, concerned only with taking some medicine to stop the head-ache. Then this old frog showed Naruto the seal to hide the key and that was that. They talked a little more about Jiriya and the toad gave some hints on some useful jutsu to look into if he went up against Pain. Naruto thanked him as the Hermit left and Naruto passed out.

It was the next day and he had about 1000 clones out trying his new theory. It was far more difficult than trying to learn the Rasen-Shurkin. He asked Nejii to help since he didn't want to bother Hinata. He needed someone who could see the chakra flows he was making and correct him on the mistakes.

He sat down to catch his breath and looked over to Nejii. "Well?"

"You didn't have enough flows and the ones you did have were too thick there was too many gaps." Nejii replied. "What exactly are you trying to do Naruto?"

Naruto sighed and punched the ground. "I'm trying to make the Rasengan into a long distance attack. I can't let the sphere leave my hand or it dispels immediately. I thought of using a Dotun to contain it in a shell so the energy doesn't leave the area, but the amount of force needed to contain the Rasengan would make the shell almost unbreakable if I threw it, not to mention heavy and avoidable. Plus I can't use earth natured chakra at all. I am hopeless at that." Naruto smiled wryly.

"Then what are you trying to do then with the chakra threads?" The Hyuuga asked.

"Well I am trying to make a tunnel, I guess you could say. The Rasengan needs a constant source of chakra. I am hoping to use a chakra tunnel and let the force of the rasengan escape through a directed area through the tunnel. Then it wouldn't scatter into the wind and could feed off the tunnel so it wouldn't lose power."

The Hyuuga thought this over and couldn't find any holes in the theory,

"It won't work Naruto."

The two turned to see Kakashi leaning against a tree his arm's folder together. Naruto scowled.

"yeah yeah! You always tell me that, but we won't know unless we try."

"It is a very unique and interesting concept Naruto." The elite Jounin said. "But it simply isn't possible to control that many chakra sources at one time. You have hundreds of threads moving though the Rasengan, to maintain a chakra path to do what you need, the path will need over a million threads to go the length needed to make the attack worthwhile. To do that you could need hundreds of clones lined up to help." The masked man shook his head. "Simply put Naruto, the amount of chakra, time and clones needed to do that would be a waste. You would be better off using all those clones to use a wind jutsu or several hunted explosive tags at the enemy. It will do more damage than this beam attack of yours and be harder to dodge with less Chakra wasted."

Naruto thought this over and realized his sensei was right. He punched the ground and dispelled all the clones. "There HAS to be a way! I have to find it!"

"Why are you so interested in this Naruto?" Nejii asked. "What is wrong with keeping the Rasengan as it is? It is very powerful and is harder to avoid a close range attack than a long range one."

"It isn't the Rasengan I am trying to perfect. It's the Rasen-Shurkin. I can feel it in my bones that there is a way to throw it, and I know. I KNOW, that the key to in relies with the Rasengan. I have to find a way to stabilize that if I want to make it long range."

"What do you mean Naruto?" Kakashi asked, very interested now.

"Well sensei. The rotation of the Rasengan generates enough self gravity to keep the wind manipulation attached to it and through the sphere. Basically each pair of wind manipulated chakra threads are attached to another pair on the opposite side. The rotation of the rasengan and the gravity it generates keep them rubbing together, making them sharper and sharper but still attached to the sphere. But the Rasengan needs a constant source of Chakra to maintain the rotations. And not just chakra, but chakra nurtured in certain ways so it doesn't slow down." Naruto looked to his sensei. "I just can't think of a way, Kakashi-sensei. That was my last decent idea."

Nejii thought about this for several long moments, grasping the idea of the rasengan, while the other two talked.

"Well Naruto we will find a way, but it could take years, so be prepared for not having this when the battles come. On a good note it seems that you mastered the one handed Rasengan with trying to make the pathway."

"Yeah. Making that tunnel was so hard that I had to do the Rasengan one handed to even try to make something that complicated. So yeah I guess some good did come from four hours wasted." Naruto kinda sulked at that.

"Naruto…" Nejii spoke quietly causing the two to turn to him. "You said that your wind element is pulled in to the rasengan by the spin of the sphere, and is contained that way?" Naruto nodded, not sure where the young jounin was going with this. "Then the answer is simple."

"What?" Naruto and Kakashi said together.

"Come Naruto I heard about the move you and my cousin were working on. The answer lies with that."

"I…need to do the heavenly spin?" Naruto asked doubtfully. Nejii could only purse his lips and stare intently at the blond.

"No, idiot. You need to make the rasengan faster and stronger." Kakashi caught on and Nejii could see a large grin behind the mask.

"Oh very good Nejii, that's so simple I can't believe we didn't think of that!" The ex-ANBU laughed.

"What to you mean faster and stronger?" Naruto butted in sharply, annoyed that he didn't understand.

"It's simple Naruto." His sensei turned back to him. "If the rotation of the rasengan keeps the wind element connected and functioning then the rotation of a rasengan will do the same for the well…the rasengan." He beamed a smile at his student.

"Huh?" Nejii and Kakashi both sighed and looked at each other.

"Naruto! The key to this is making another, smaller rasengan in the core. One that turns about ten times faster than the original rasengan. Then the gravity and force of this will pull in on the outer sphere. The outer sphere will keep the inner on contained. The beauty of this Naruto is that the speed will be so great that it could take seconds for it to slow enough for the Rasen-Shurkin to even begin to dissipate. This will allow you to throw the technique and spare yourself the damage!' Kakashi finished the lecture with a proud stance. Waiting for the compliments and exclaims of genius. He didn't get his wish.

Naruto was excited. More excited than he had been since he learned about the clone training. When Kakashi-sensei explained the solution Naruto immediately grasped the concept and started to think of ways to improve it even further. Without further delay he pulled out a good read of the Kyuubi's chakra since he was low of his own from the previous hours and made about 1000 clones again. His faced the clones and made the announcement.

"Now listen up clones! The idea of this is to make the Rasengan about the size of a quarter with the same strength and concentration. Once we get this down we can move onto the outer shell! So begin!" Soon the entire field was covered in grunts and moans of concentration. Beads pf sweat dripping from each of them. Every now and then one of the clones would lose control of the tightly packed spiral technique and it would explode destroying a clone or two. Naruto as usual had left to get some lunch so he wouldn't pass out for a day when he dispelled the clones. Kakashi followed him silently. As Naruto ate he brought something up that he had been holding back.

"Naruto we need to talk about something." The blond looked over at him while slurping up his noodles. "We need to talk about Jiriya's will." The boy froze with a noodle hanging from his mouth. Slowly he sucked it up and gave him his Full attention.

"Jiriya left several things for you. Most of his assets, which are vast, are now yours along with the royalties of his book series. He also Left you some scrolls of techniques and training methods for you to look at." Naruto was stunned. He had seen Ero-sennin's pocketbook one time and it held a lot. A huge sum in fact. He would finally be able to get out of that ratty little apartment that he hated. Maybe even hire someone to clean his new home for him. He hated cleaning.

"W-wow. Why me?" He had to ask.

"Well he left you a letter to read when you are alone. I will get it for you later. There is something else he left you however."

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

"He left you a pair of weapon. Well a pair of gloves really, but they are special gloves." Kakashi took them out of his pocked and handed them over to Naruto."

Naruto looked at them oddly. They were fingerless and black with metal plates on the back of them. The plates were inscribed with hundred of very small seals etched in gold. In the palm there was a thin gold spiral made up of some kind of metal. All in all they looked very cool, but Naruto already had gloves if he needed them.

"What is so special about them Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well the backs are made of a very strong chakra alloy, metal that is especially infused with wind natured chakra. Each of the seals on there are seals of protection. They can stock any blade, including Sasuke's sword of Kusanagi, which isn't supposed to be blockable. If you add some chakra to your hands it will also make any strikes you make stronger. Now look at the palms. See the spiral?" Naruto nodded.

"What makes these gloves so special is that the Yodaime himself made these. That spiral in the center contains the seals and pathways for the Rasengan itself. All you need to do when wearing these to make the rasengan is channel chakra into them. It will free up a great deal of concentration. These are powerful weapons Naruto. Use them well." The jounin go up and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto stared at the gloves for a few moments, this thoughts and emotions racing. Jiriya had left them these. More importantly these gloves were the 4th's. He had been given what was probably one of the Yodaime's most prized possessions. "I am going to kick so much ass with these!" He exclaimed suddenly and pulled them on. He felt a tingling sensation run from his hands to his arms. And the seals on the back of the gloves glow. He couldn't help but grin as his hands felt stronger than ever. Turning his hand upside down he figured he would try the Rasengan with these. He channeled the usual amount of chakra needed for his rasengan, but didn't try to form it. The spiral shaped metal glowed slightly and sure enough Naruto felt his chakra being drained and there in his hand was the familiar bluish-white sphere rotating rapidly in his hand. His grin widened 'This is amazing!' he thought.

He finished experimenting and tucked the gloves away. It was about 4 pm by now. The clones had been practicing making the rasengan smaller and faster for about three hours. In two hours he would need to get ready for his date with Hinata. He shivered at the thought. He had never been on a date before. He knew the perfect place and now that he had the money to afford it he was actually starting to look forward to the date. He was walking though the shop He noticed that some of the girls were squinting at his orange coat and looking rather disgusted at it. 'What's wrong with my coat?' he thought. He turned to a shop window and looked at his reflection. "I look cool! Ero-sennin gave me this." He thought, frowning. At that moment the sun reflected and he too had to squint against the orange. 'Well maybe it is a little too bright. Maybe it's time for a change.'

He firmed up his resolve and dispelled his clones that were back at the training ground. About half of them had already been accidentally dispelled from the training so he didn't pass-out but it did knock him on the ground as he swooned and his vision blurred. 'I will never get used to that." He stumbled up and leaned against a wall. Shaking out the weariness he started to head home. He was almost there when someone crashed into him. Thinking he was under attack he rolled with the collision and came up with a kunai held tightly. On the ground was a shapely dark haired woman with a white blossom in her hair. She sat up and looked around trying to find what she crashed into. Naruto felt sheepish for having a weapon out in guard of this woman, who was obviously just as confused and shaken as he was. She was in a dark long skirt and a flowing white blouse that was tight around the chest and hips. Over the right breast a red lotus blossom was sewn in. She laid eyes on him and started.

"Oh! I am so sorry! The woman said, getting up and dusting herself off. "I was in such a hurry I didn't see you." She smiled at him.

"Oh that's alright! I'm a ninja! I have taken worse than that!" He beamed folding his hands behind his head.

"A ninja? Really? You don't look too strong." She looked at him doubtfully. This always irritated him.

"A true shinobi doesn't need to look strong to be strong. Determination and the will to endure, is what makes the strongest." He countered, almost daring her to say differently.

She shrugged. "I don't know anything about Ninja, so I will take your word for it. Here. Take this as an apology for any offensive I have caused." She reached into her bag and pulled out a red rose and handed it to him. He looked it over, it felt odd. He touched the petals and realized they were paper. But the Origami was so incredible that it looked almost real.

"Wow! Did you make this?" He asked.

"Hai! It's is how I make my living. I do professional Origami. I'm the best there is!"

"Thank you! I like it! Do you have a shop around here?"

"Ah, no. I just came into town to look about maybe setting up a business. I have a feeling a lot of people will be seeing my art very soon, this Village seems to be ready for it."

"Errrr….If you say so, but I have to go. Thank you for the gift!" He waved and headed off across the roofs to his home. 'Oh', he thought. I forgot to get her name.' Shrugging, he soon forgot all about her. His mind focused on getting ready for his date.

-

--

-

Naruto was more nervous than he could ever remember being in his life. He was actually going on a date. He had always envisioned this being with Sakura, but was far happier now that it was with Hinata. When he thought about it, Sakura was far too unforgiving and had a bad temper; he was always worried she would hurt him for anything he said. Hinata was…different. She seemed to accept him how he was and liked it.

He approached the Hyuuga compound and walked through the few streets till he arrived at Hinata's home. Taking a deep break he knocked. After waiting a minute or two he knocked again, a little louder. The door slide open to reveal a servant looking at him very arrogantly. He hated these looks, always thinking they were better than other people. He half thought about using his sexy no jutsu just to knock the guy out, but figured he was such a tight ass he would be more offended than aroused and would ruin any chance with Hinata.

"Yes?" The scrawny man asked.

"Uzimaki Naruto here for Hyuuga-Hinata-sama." He replied respectfully. He wanted to say 'yo old man! Go get the prettiest women in the village! Her date is here!' He barely contained himself. The old servant nodded, moving aside for Naruto to enter.

"You are expected. Please wait in the foyer; you are not to leave there." He led the young ninja into a spacious room and left him there to go get Hinata. Naruto looked around the room. There was a sofa, several chairs, a table with a tea set for six. A bookshelf filled with several books and scrolls. The room was bigger than his home twice over. 'Wow'.

"What are you doing here?" A voice from behind him asked sharply. Naruto turned swiftly to see Hinata's father and beside him her younger sister that would soon become a gennin. "Well? I asked you a question Uzimaki. What are you doing in my home?" His eyes narrowed at Naruto.

"I am here to pick up Hinata." Naruto stood proudly, refusing to let this ass belittle him.

"Isn't it late to be training? Do not lie to me boy." 'Boy?' Naruto hated that term, especially in such a derogatory way. He felt his temper fast fading when a soft and hesitant melody broke the fast rising tension in the room.

"Naruto and I are going out with some of the other Chunnin father." Naruto and The Hyuuga elder looked over to see Hinata standing in the doorway. Naruto felt all the breath rush out of him at the site of his first date.

Hinata was absolutely resplendent. She wore a soft Kimono of the palest blue. Thin threads of a slightly darker blue, set in a myriad of tiny spiral patterns, adorned the cloth from shoulder to toe. A sash of the richest azure with similar patterns, but in the soft blue color of the kimono, wrapped her waist showing her normally hidden curves. The tips of her toes locked in ninja sandals, (No shinobi would go out in such dangerous times without some soft of proper footwear) were delicate and cute. A very slight sprinkling of glitter dotted the girls dark glossy hair. To put in simply, in Naruto's eyes.

_No creature in heaven or earth could match the perfect beauty that Hinata had captured tonight. _

Naruto could only stare in awe. 'Hinata', he muttered so softly that no one could hear him. Her father however could certainly do more than stare.

"You are dressed far too fine, for a simple meeting of team-mates and friends." His eyes darted from Naruto to Hinata suspiciously. "One would almost think this is a…date." The last word was twisted along with his lip in a disdainful manner. Naruto opened his mouth but shut it quickly from the warning glance that Hinata gave him.

"It is father. I asked Naruto if he would accompany me on a date tonight, and he graciously accepted. I hope this does not displease you, he does you and this house honor in my eyes." She lowered her head and eyes respectfully at these words. Naruto almost laughed that she had left out the circumstances of how she had asked him. It was very comical. He just stood there proud and as dignified as he could, under her father's scrutiny. The man's eyes studied her daughter carefully, not betraying his emotions, and then darted quickly to Naruto. It felt like every layer that made him who he was, was being stripped away under the fierce scrutiny of the powerful clan head. He was laid to the bone and he couldn't help a gulp and try to suppress the shiver that racked him.

"Hinata, wait outside the room, while I talk to the '_young_' man." He ordered his daughter, and reminded Naruto and Hinata of their ages and rank compared to him, in one swift, polite, political statement. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but the cold stern look her father gave her shut her up completely and reminded her that he was indeed her father. Hinata nodded obediently and gave Naruto a concerned look as she turned to leave.

"Hanabi, stop skulking in the corner and keep your sister company while I speak." Naruto glanced at the guilty looking young girl, who nodded as well and left behind her older sister. When the door shut, Naruto and Hiashi were alone in the room. The stern elder studied Naruto quickly before nodding to the sofa. "Please sit." It was phrased as a request, but more an order. Naruto hurried to obey. It was odd, he would stand up to granny-Tsunade, the Hokage, and call her an old bag to her face, but couldn't find it within him to offer this man any kind of defiance.

Hiashi moved over to a chair that was probably his usual rightful place to sit when entertaining company. Carefully folding his hands in his lap those pale eyes, of the renowned blood-line, delved into Naruto's bright blue.

"What are your intentions towards my daughter?" he blurted out suddenly catching the young man off guard. Naruto didn't know what he meant.

"Intentions?" He asked. "It's like Hinata-chan said sir, we are going on a date." He stated simply.

A frown creased the older man's lips. "But what are your intentions?" 'What is this old coot talking about?' thought Naruto. 'I just said we are going on a date.' Then it occurred to him and he turned red from both embarrassment and outrage.

"It's not like that at all!" He declared. "Hinata-chan is strong, pretty and smart. I feel it is privilege that she thought me good enough to take her out. And if you think-"

"It is a privilege and a great honor!" Hiashi interrupted him. "A Hyuuga heir is very important and influential. I am not stupid Uzimaki Naruto. Gaining her favor would go a long way in winning the trust and acceptance of the village and influence in your dreams of Hokage. So I am very doubtful in letting any kind of relationship between the two of you continue." He looked at the stunned Naruto with narrowed eyes.

Naruto in his years in the village had never been so offended and upset as he was by those words. He slowly stood-up and with every ounce of his will repressed the kyuubi chakra from leaking out. Clenching his fists tightly he responded to that hateful statement. "How-How DARE YOU?!" He almost screamed. "Hinata isn't some toy or object to be used to further my dreams, or your stupid clan needs. She is a person not a bartering tool! I am going to become Hokage on my own strength and my own will, not by bribing the council with influence or wealth. I will gain my acceptance by the village how every Hokage does/! By being willing to sacrifice my life to protect them. I have and always will, give this village everything I can. From you to the children that play in the streets. I want to go out with Hinata because I like her and she likes me. That's all there is to it. And if you try to hurt her because of this I will tell you what I tell every enemy I have faced. If you come between me and those most precious to me, I will go THROUGH you!" His eyes burned with an amazing resolve. A promise to the man in front of him of a fight he would lose if he took up the young shinobi's measure.

Hiashi didn't move or blink during the small tirade. A single brow rose as Naruto finished and he looked up from his seated position. Naruto readied himself for the argument that was sure to come and felt regretful that Hinata's father would forbid her from dating him. He was probably as surprised as he had ever been in his life when he saw the small smile that formed of Hiashi's lips and the look of approval and nod that came with it.

"Good. I apologize for my words, but I had to make sure Uzimaki-san. You are right that Hinata is not a tool to be bartered with; regretfully I did not see this until a few years ago. It was you who helped to change this family in the little it has Uzimaki-san, and I will forever give you a small honor for the rift you helped to heal between the main and branch families. It still stands however that anyone my daughter is interested in, or vice versa, may indeed only seek her out to earn the graces of the clan and village rather than her well being. You will do well to always remember that Naruto and never abuse this privilege you are being awarded with, and not by me, but by her. Hinata is very shy and reluctant to open up; that she did with you is remarkable. Know this Naruto-san." His voice took on a steely quality and his gaze was piercing. "That fact that she did open up to you makes her very vulnerable. If you break her heart it could crush her completely forever, and I promise YOU, that you will never find welcome in this village or become Hokage if you do such a thing to my daughter." He stood up and stared into Naruto's eyes meeting resolve with resolve.

Naruto had never had much respect for Hinata's father after hearing what Nejii's life was like. That changed now as he saw that Hiashi was a father was protecting his daughter. Naruto always felt sad and happy when he encountered this. Happy that someone was loved that much, and dreadfully sad that he never had anyone to give him that. Slowly he nodded showing he understood exactly what Hiashi meant.

"Good. Hinata!" He raised his voice. A moment later a scared and worried Hinata darted into the room. "You have chosen well my daughter. Enjoy your night." He took Hanabi by the shoulder and lead her out the door before turning back to say one last thing to the new couple. "And Naruto-san. If your intentions stray from a simple date and held hands then all the Kage's in the world will not be able to get you alone with my daughter again." With that he left the two alone.

They both blushed a deep red and couldn't meet each others eyes with thoughts of what the Clan Head meant. His eyes automatically moved to her curves, her chest and her hips, she saw him looking and turned to red that she had to cover her face in her hands from the embarrassment. Naruto almost body flickered away. Taking a deep breath and getting himself under control, he took a step towards Hinata.

"We should go. The show will be starting soon." Naruto said. Hinata tried to control her nervousness and blush and couldn't look up at him, so stared at the ground poking her fingers together. She looked up when he didn't move to see him holding out his arm for her, his face looked nervous to her. She was surprised. She hadn't thought he would be as unsure as her when it came to this. This gave her a great deal of relief as she wasn't the only clueless one between them. Smiling shyly she took his hand and they walked out of the Hyuuga compound together on their first date.

-

--

-

She stood in the shadows as she saw Naruto enter the Hyuuga compound. She stood in the shadows as she waited. She stood in the shadows as he left with the lovely young girl. She hadn't expected it to be this difficult. She knew it would be very hard, but this was almost beyond enduring. Her heart beat franticly; he skin was cold and clammy yes hot and flushed at the same time. Her hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Her stealth jutsu couldn't be broken except by the most elite of shinobi and the Hokage so she wasn't worried about being discovered watching Naruto.

The young man moved with confidence she had to admit. The last time she was laid eyes on him he had just graduated from the academy. She almost took him then, good judgment stayed her hand as there was no telling what the village might do then. At this moment, when he was so vulnerable she almost took him. In an extreme effort of will she stopped herself from doing just that. Still he was a target and others would be here for him soon, this was her chance. He was a striking figure as he moved out on his date. Loose khaki pants with a nice black shirt. He had a slight tan and spiky blond hair. Without a doubt he was very handsome in a boyish sort of way.

She gliding along the shadows, almost a part of them, her chakra suppressed to the point of any ordinary untrained person. She followed him to the play, to the dinner, to the waterfall outside the village walls. She watched as he reached out and tentatively held the young girls hand. 'Is this his first date?' she thought. 'This girl could be a vulnerability to him, could get him to act rashly and charge into danger without thought. Or it could be a source of great strength not to be under estimated.' Her eyes silently followed him out over the water where the pair kissed. 'Now that is cute' she had to admit. 'Yes defiantly first love.' A vulnerability, not a strength at this point, unless it was allowed to deepen and mature and grow. He wouldn't be allowed that though. She watched him as he dropped the girl off at her clan compound and walk to his home. She now knew where he lived. She marked out various entrances and exits that she could see and she saw his light finally go out as she waited another hour. She was gathering herself to approach Naruto's window when a presence stopped her.

"I hope you enjoyed the show." A dangerous voice said from above. She turned to flee when she saw another figure blocking her escape at the end of the ally. 'How the hell did they see through her jutsu?' She thought. The figure above jumped down and landed in front of her. 'Him!" She thought. His body was set; ready to defend or kill in a moment. With his face shadowed in the night only one bright red eye could be seen with any clarity. She couldn't breathe for a moment. 'Of all the people to catch her.'

"Kakashi…" She said softly. The eye she could see narrowed.

"So you know me. You have entered the Hidden Leaf unannounced and are stalking one of our ninja. Come quietly and cooperate to be held for questioning. We will soon determine if you are a member of Akatsuki or not; and what your intentions are." His stance readied a bit more, expecting a fight. She couldn't help but laugh fondly. His head tilted at this.

"I think you will find me no enemy but a very old ally Kakashi-chan." She reached up slowly and pulled down the black hood of her dark robes. Reaching back she tugged and shook out her long red hair and her eyes gleamed with a fond look in the moonlight. Kakashi was floored. He couldn't move, this wasn't possible. She couldn't be alive.

"Kushina-sensei…" He said softly as she reached up and laid a soft hand on his cheek.

-

--

-

Naruto walked Hinata to the first part of their date. It was a comedy play about two clown ninja, which was said to be a riot. He kept stealing glances at as they walked; the silence between the two was making him nervous. He had to break it somehow. "Ummm Hinata?" She jumped a bit when he spoke and looked over at him a hopeful smile on her face.

"Yes Naruto-kun"

"I just wanted to say that-that well…you look very nice tonight." He blushed a bit and looked away. Hinata's heart swelled again. She didn't think he noticed how she looked. She spent four hours picking things out and trying them on, the servants seemed ready to walk out on her, but she wanted to be absolutely perfect tonight. 'Very nice' wasn't exactly what she was hoping to capture from him, but she would take any compliment from her Naruto-kun with joy.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. You look great as well!" She smiled and looked at him. He was breath taking tonight she thought. With his dark khaki slacked and black shirt loose, but not baggy. He always covered up his arms, but tonight the short sleeve allowed her to see how muscular his arms had become over the training. She briefly thought about what it would be like to be held in those arms and she reddened and looked straight ahead with purpose. 'I should not think like that. I should not think like that.' She repeated over and in her head as a mantra to ward off such thoughts. She felt something warm enclose her hand so looked down. She was thrilled to see that Naruto had taken it. It was a soft hesitant touch, not that he was afraid of hurting her, but that he wasn't sure if she would allow this. She smiled that secret smile that women everyone seem to master and squeezed back in affirmation. Their touch grew solid and comfortable and they walked into the stands of the play to take their seats for the show.

Naruto was having a great time. They both laughed a great deal through the play. Especially when one of the clown's performed a henge that was a variation of Naruto's sexy no-jutsu, but with cloths on. It wasn't nearly as perfected as Naruto's but he didn't dare say that to Hinata in case she thought him a pervert. After the play they went to a meal at a new restaurant that had opened up recently. He was able to secure them a private dining area outside on a balcony; lots of flowers decorated the area. Giving off a pleasant smell. Naruto of course had some Ramen and Hinata chose some kind of glazed pink fish for a meal with both having dessert; a black sesame ice cream dish that was very good. Naruto was taking her to his favorite spot right now; he was praying that it wasn't too intimate for Hinata. He didn't know how exactly he was supposed to take things. He stopped suddenly and turned behind them to the darkness.

Hinata looked over at Naruto again. He had been doing this often she thought. He didn't say what was the matter, but when she looked to where he was looking at each time he did this she couldn't see anything, she didn't think of using her blood-line however and couldn't see what was there. He would always shake his head slightly, smile at her and take her hand and lead her away again. She couldn't remember having had such a fun time before. Gradually over the night their nervousness faded and they talked a lot more. He told her about other moments of his training with Jiriya and old missions with Team 7 and she told him about some of the antics Kiba and she got up to on some for their missions, especially the one where Kiba hired a male stripper to rest in Kurenai-sensie room during an especially long mission. The team could hear her scream of delight 'Oh YEAH!' the room over and they all laughed till the stripper sailed through the wall into their room.

The night went like this. They laughed a lot and their hands now seemed inseparable. Naruto had helped them evade all those jounin and chunnin gossip stalkers with some shadow clones and a good henge, so thankfully they were alone now. Naruto was taking her someplace, down a path outside the walls of the village. They walked for a good fifteen minutes till he took her down a small dirt path and she could hear a roaring of the waterfall. They passed through the bushes and there it was. She sighed at the site. The air glimmered in the moonlight from the spray of the water in the air. It was fresh and the slight sprinkle in the air cooled her off. Naruto spoke breaking her out of her vision.

"This is my favorite spot, besides the face of the 4th . The sound of the waterfall always relaxes me and helps me to think. Do-Do you like it?" He looked over at her. He liked to look at her, she really was perfect tonight.

"It's wonderful!' she breathed. Her eyes moving over the breath-taking site. She had never been here during the night and now knew that to be a sad thing. She felt Naruto leave her side and watched him walk out onto the water at the top of the fall.

"Do you want to dance Hinata-chan?" He held out his hand waiting for her to accept. She lowered her head and nodded, smiling another one of those secret smiles. Slipping her sandals off, she stepped out onto the water, marveling at the feel of the cold rushing water under her feet, sliding along her toes. She reached Naruto and took his hand. Slowly he drew her to him and put his other hand on her waist causing her to blush.

Gently they began to dance to the sound of non existent music. It was quiet that they needed now to affirm the date, so quietly they danced growing closer and closer with each step. The soft spray of the water lightly coated them with the smell of the river and wilderness. Their bodies came together. Hinata laid her head on chest, next to his heart and closer her eyes as his arms wrapped around her and she did the same. They stopped dancing and just stood there holding each other for the first time. Their eyes closed and breathed in the smell of the other. They stood like this for several minutes before Naruto spoke up so softly that Hinata almost couldn't here him. "Hinata?"

"Mmmmmm?" She mumbled from his chest.

"I just wanted to tell you that well. During my times with Ero-sennin I have seen lots of pretty women in all kinds of places." He sighed in frustration and pulled her apart from him. "This isn't coming out how I want it to." She looked at him quizzically waiting for him to continue. "Look Hinata, I can't explain it so I will just say it. You're perfect. The prettiest girl- no woman- I have ever seen in all my travels. I just can't stop looking at you tonight. You're so pretty that I keep wanting to-" Naruto's ramble was interrupted by a finger on his lips. Hinata looked up at him with eyes brimming with joy and tears. A smile so grand it lit the night skies with its feeling.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. You make me feel…important for once in my life. It is the best feeling I have ever felt and I owe it to you." She lowered her hand. "Thank you." Naruto stared down at her. People had said a lot of things to him that were good and bad, but her simple statement made him want to protect her with his life from even the smallest possible harm.

"You are important Hinata. You're important to me." He replied softly. She gasped at the very intimate words, unable to articulate a response. Her heart almost stopped as his fingers tilted her head up to his. Slowly his face began to lower. Her heart started to beat again, but so hard and fast she wouldn't have been surprised if it leapt out of her chest. Her face grew flushed and her breathing short. She closed her eyes as their lips touched and their arms wrapped around each other. It was like an electric jolt. Something so profound and deep passed through each of them at the kiss that would forever lock them together. Gently he opened his mouth slightly and she eagerly followed, breathing an air of passion into Naruto as their tongues lovingly touched, as intimate and deep as anything they had ever known. And as the moonlight shone and framed the pair on the effervescent water, and the eager wet spray leapt and ensnarled the pair in glittering diamond drops, their hearts connected in that most profound and cherished of ways.

They fell in love.

.

.

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* * *

**A/N**

-a Henge is a shape change jutsu if you needed a refresher.

- I speed up the Naruto/Hinata relationship with the fast kiss that was very unlike them because I didn't want to spend too much time on the developing relationship, it is a side note for character and plot development and not the main focus on the story, but still needed so I am sorry for those of you who wanted a more detailed relationship build.

-I am still very nervous about the Naruto/Kushina introduction. It will be hard to figure out how he will react. I have a vague outline written up already, but ideas and the written thing are different.

-Well anyways I hope you enjoyed the update, stay turned for Chapter 7


	7. Chapter 7 The terrible Truth

**Chapter 7**

**The Terrible Truth**

Yamoto sat on a chair of earth he had created and read a scroll. Across the vast field grunts and screams of determination filled the air draining his attempts to concentrate on the scroll's contents. Naruto had progressed well during the week. The Hyuuga heir, Hinata, had been at his side almost every day encouraging and helping him the best she could. They were the talk of the village since they had their date. Even Yamoto had to admit they were one of the cutest couples he had ever seen. There was still controversy over the pairing however. The shinobi population in general could care less and were happy that Naruto had finally found a girl-friend. The villagers in however were of mixed belief. There were many who saw Naruto as a savior after the chunnin exams and for bringing the fifth back to the village. A small portion of the population however, were doing their best to create discontent over the idea that the boy was the Kyuubi and could 'mate' as they said, and produce 'little demon fox babies'. Of course it was utterly ridiculous and Naruto's accomplishments wouldn't budge under the strain of their belief. But it could be a source of infiltration for Akatsuki and thus ANBU had to waste time and energy in making sure that didn't happen.

Still the biggest problem was the Hyuuga clan. It was in an uproar and a schism was fast forming between the Head of the Clan and the other elders. The clan was as ridged as could be and had always seen Naruto as a weapon and problem rather than a human, add that to the fact that their last clan head had died to the Kyuubi and they loathed the boy. In a surprising move however Hyuuga Hiashi remained firm in his stance behind the intentions of the boy, and battled endlessly for his daughter's sake. His mood and motives in the council had even improved and aided Tsunade-sama against the battered old councilors. It seemed Naruto and Hinata would be allowed to continue their relationship and as long as things didn't get bad the novelty would fade away and with it the troubles it caused.

Hinata proved a great boon to Naruto and he to her. With his will and newly acquired knowledge of all things shinobi and her eyes and keen chakra control; Naruto was able to finally create the core of the new Rasengan after almost four days of effort with his mass clone training. Sakura was injured from a B class mission she went on and was there to help Naruto's stamina and recovery while her leg healed from the wounds of some razor-wire. Naruto was now trying to do something even harder than his Futon-Rasen-Shurkin or Futon-Rasengan. He called his new Rasengan the twice-cored rasengan. Not very imaginative, but he was intent on training and not sounding cool, which in the end was what mattered. He had combined the new core in the rasengan, but it took a clone to do. He was trying to get it down to one hand which was the key to efficiency in terms of power and speed. He would be up against extremely fast missing nins who wouldn't let him spend the time to create the jutsu unless he used five or more clones to hold them off. He had a huge Chakra pool at his command so it didn't matter, but with nins like this Kisame out there who had even more than him, He needed to be the absolute best since there was a good chance it could end up a 2 on 1 match and he would need to keep pace with the enemy to stay alive. At the Kage level battles it wasn't only whoever had the most chakra, like the gennin and chunnin battles, but also who had enough chakra at the end of the battle to take advantage of a mistake, with a devastating killer blow.

Naruto wasn't close to Kage level yet however, but Yamoto and Kakashi thought he was defiantly at jounin level with all the training he had been doing the past three weeks and today it looked like he would prove it for sure as his thoughts were interrupted by two joyful shouts. "Naruto-kun! You did it!" and a loud "HELL YEAH!" from the middle of the field. All the clones turned to look. One of them muttered. 'Damnit. I wish I was as good as him.' Yomoto was walking over to the middle when he heard this and looked at the clone like he was crazy. The clone saw the look and huffed. The rest of the clones with more determination to beat their counterparts renewed their effort to make the Twice-cored-Rasengan single handedly.

When Yamoto arrived at the two he looked at the new Rasengan always awed by its beauty. It didn't look like the old one, which was a vibrant blue swirl. This one looked like a small white sun contained in his hand. A bright white glow with a surging sound of power. Its outer edges were blue now with small sparks of chakra darting off wrenching away from the extreme speeds of the spiral. "Well-done Naruto!" The ANBU said. "It must have been extremely hard with all the hours you have put into it."

"Yeah." Naruto replied. "I was making the mistake of trying to make the core first till I realized that when making the sphere the core would start to slow down and I would have to direct my attention to that, which made the sphere dissipate. I changed that this morning though and made the outer sphere first and used its speed and power as a boost to the core. Once that happened I could concentrate all my efforts on maintaining the core as it kept the outer sphere connected." Yamoto blinked at all the cores and spheres he was bombarded with and took a moment to sort the information out.

"I think I understand. Congratulations. Now collect up your clones take a break for a couple hours and then work on the speed of it's creation like Kakashi-sama said." He grinned. Naruto looked at him slack jawed while Hinata rubbed his back comfortingly. Sakura who was listening several feet away reached into her pouch and drew out a pill.

"Here Naruto, Take this. You overworked yourself today and you could seriously injure yourself if you dispelled your clones without some more energy. Naruto looked at the pill doubtfully.

"That's easy for you to say 'Take this Naruto', but you don't have to taste these things. What do you put in these things anyways Sakura-chan? They taste like dirty old socks."

"Just take it Naruto!" The pink haired kunoichi snapped. She had started to raise her fist to deck the brat, but at a look from Hinata she gulped and lowered her hand. She learned the hard way that little Hinata would not tolerate anyone hitting Naruto was any reason. Four days ago Naruto had remarked on her temper so she naturally hit him and sent him flying a couple hundred feet. She hadn't anticipated Hinata's reaction as she jumped to her boy-friends aid with a fantastic move that left Sakura in the hospital for a day and a half. Hinata dashed forward planted a gentle strike to her stomach bowling her over then did a heavenly spin next to Sakura sending her flying. Before she hit the ground Hinata was suddenly behind her and she slammed into a second fierce chakra spin and the next thing she knew she was waking up in the hospital with Tsunade and Shizune both laughing their asses off at her. Her days on beating on the blond were done it seemed.

She did admit that while no one else could beat on Naruto, Hinata didn't share the same constraints. The Hyuuga had broken out of her shell completely and held Naruto in line with a firm hand. Yesterday he had thought he could tease Sakura and use Hinata as a shield to avoid the consequences. Hinata however would not be taken advantage of however and smacked her boy-friend upside the end so hard he flipped through the air and landed hard on his rump. She forced Naruto to apologize to the medic-nin and that ended the fleeting reign of the taunting Naruto.

Naruto grudging took the pill and made a face as it passed down his throat. The effects were immediate however as a small surge of chakra leaked from his body and he perked up immediately. With an eager spring to his actions he brought his hands together and dispelled the mass of clones. He started to open his mouth to say something but suddenly went glass-eyes and passes-out to be caught by Hinata.

"Naruto-kun!" the dark haired kunoichi exclaimed.

"Don't worry." Sakura assured her friend. "He will be up in a couple of hours. He worked himself far too hard the past week and his body needs the time to recover. Just move up to the share and throw a pillow under his head to let him rest."

"H-Hai!" Hinata said and moved to comply. Yamoto said he had some reports to finish and gave his good-byes and vanished in a swirl of smoke and leaves. Sakura wished she knew how to do that, but only jounin were allowed to use that technique and they guarded it jealously. She sat down next to Hinata who had Naruto's head in her lap and was stroking his hair. Sakura felt a pang in the pit of her stomach at this site, wishing she had someone to share that with.

"You're doing well with him Hinata."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Hinata a girl has to keep her man in line. A guy likes to test the limits all the time. Not because they all want to take advantage, but some do, but because they find it fun for some god awful reason. It doesn't matter the relationship they have with the girl, they will purposely try to make us mad just to tease us. You have to mold them like clay till you create of a work of art that you like."

"But I don't want to change Naruto-kun. I love him just the way he is. I don't want to change him." Sakura smiled at the admittance of love, but shook her head in reply.

"It's not changing. You just shave off the rough edges that annoy you. It takes a fine hand and years of work to get him perfect. To leave the right annoyances to make life interesting, but getting rid of the ones that you really can't stand. And don't pander to his every whim and want. Make him work for your good graces, otherwise he won't appreciate it." Sakura was just quoting her mother, but her mother said that these were the unspoken rules between women and men and every good and healthy relationship followed them, and from what Sakura saw everyday with her father she tended to believe her mom and so passed on this age old wisdom to Hinata, who didn't have a mother to tell her.

"If you say so, I will try my best!" Hinata replied with a soft smile which Sakura returned warmly.

The two kunoichi sat there and talked for several hours. Going over training methods and things they heard around the village mostly funny things about Naruto that they recalled. Eventually Sakura left to grab some food for Naruto as he started to stir. She got back just about the time he opened his eyes and sat up.

"Wow." The blond said. "The really took it out of me. How long was I out?"

"Not long. A couple of hours at most." his girlfriend said. He reached behind him and threw on his jacket and took the food from Sakura with thanks and started to devour it.

"m phlays mumbry phen-" he started to talk with his mouth fool, but a disapproving look from both Hinata and Sakura stopped him and he took the time to swallow his food. "Sorry." He said. "I'm always so hungry after I wake up. Thanks a lot. I can never get over how awesome this training is though. Before I couldn't really notice a change in my abilities since it was so gradual, but now I feel huge leaps every time I dismiss my clones. At this rate I could probably rival baa-chan in a year!" He grinned.

"Nonsense Naruto." Sakura had to pop his fast growing ego a bit. "There is a big difference between knowing how to do something and applying it wisely in battle or decisions. You may now know every Shinobi tactic and you can learn 1000 jutsu, but it takes years of experience and missions to know when to learn the right call and what the best solution to a surprise and unknown situation is."

Hinata scowled at the pink haired nin, but didn't say anything as she recalled the words Sakura told her earlier. Naruto did tend to get ahead of himself and needed to be pulled back a pace now and then.

"Naruto! Hinata! Sakura!" The three turned in their conversation to see Kakashi walking up to them with a wave. Next to him there was a very pretty red-head, her long hair weaving lazily in the soft breeze. Naruto waved back at his sensei and stared hard at the read-head, something tugged at his memory about this woman for some reason. He could swear he knew her. She wore very loose baggy white pants of soft silk tucked into high black boots. Two swords were sheathed at her side one long and one short. She had on a matching loose white blouse with forearm guards and a jounin vest. Around her neck was a leaf forehead protector. Her long red had ran midway down her back and she had warm kind green eyes that seemed locked onto Naruto for some reason, staring not unkindly but very intently at the boy. He for some reason liked the woman a lot and felt drawn to her. He was a little scared of this sudden reaction to the stranger.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei." Sakura spoke up. Hinata and Sakura kept looking back and forth as Naruto and the strange woman stared at each other not speaking. It wasn't tense, jut odd. Like two people long separated, meeting again. Kakashi nodded at the three and turned to Naruto breaking him out of his contemplation of the woman next to him.

"So Naruto how is the training coming?" Hs sensei asked. Naruto immediately grinned.

"I did it! One handed. It is almost complete. Give me two more days and I can try out the Rasen-Shurkin and see if it is complete!"

The red haired started at this statement and looked sharply at the masked Jounin.

"That's great Naruto! I knew you could do it-." He tried to ignore the look but he couldn't ignore the sharp elbow to his ribs and winced. "Errr. Anyways, Naruto. I want you to meet someone very VERY special. She is here for you and you only, to help you train and keep you protected in case you are attacked while you are weak from training. This women is a powerful Kunochi, her name is Namikaze Kushina. This is the wife of the Namikaze Minato, the Yodaime."

The three young shinobi just stood there stunned. The wife of the 4th? Everyone thought she was dead. In fact many didn't even know he was married. Yet suddenly she was here and here to help Naruto? Naruto didn't know what to think about this. On one hand he was excited and on the other very angry. Everyone could read it on his face and was actually surprised when he bowed his head in respect.

"This is an honor Namikaze-sama. I appreciate any help you could give me." He said in a low voice. It was most un-like Naruto, Sakura thought. Kushina looked Naruto over a bit before responding.

"Thank-you for those words Uzimaki Naruto. You do my late husband and Jiriya-sama proud with your actions and beliefs. I will aid you the best I can." Her voice was rich and kind and seemed to pass through the overpowered gennin shocking him into memory.

_(Flash back)_

_Naruto was sitting on his favorite swing watching the sun set. It was two days after his little escapade with the forbidden scroll and he was informed that he was forgiven for his actions as seeing his was betrayed and lied to by a teacher that he was supposed to trust. Due to his actions in saving another leaf shinobi and teacher and the mastery of the Kage-Bushin No jutsu he was graduated from the academy with honors and tomorrow would be assigned a team with the rest of the graduates. He couldn't wait and was sitting there alone basking in the success of proving everyone wrong that had doubted him. He was one step closer to his dreams and stared at the face of the 4__th__ on the mountain. _

_He was swinging with a voice startled him._

_"You are Uzimaki Naruto I presume?" The pretty voice belonged to a tall red-haired woman who was walking up to him wearing a dark green kimono. Naruto looked her over suspiciously. Strangers rarely just spoke to him or sought him out specifically unless they wanted to hurt him or tease him._

_"Maybe." He challenged. "Who wants to know?" The women smiled a kind smile and sat on the swing next to him. _

_"I hear there was a daring young gennin who surprised everyone and saved important village secretes and caught a traitor. I wanted to meet this brave and talented young man. And what do you know. Here he is." She tilted her head and looked him up and down a gentle smile on her face and warm caring eyes boring into his. He puffed up his chest and proudly affirmed her knowledge._

_"Yep! That was me! Uzimaki Naruto! The next Hokage!" He smiled a wide smile closing his eyes. _

_"The next Hokage huh? It takes a lot of skill to be Hokage. I heard your grades weren't so good, and you didn't pay much attention"_

_"Bah! That isn't my fault!"_

_"Oh? How so? Isn't learning something up to the student" She asked._

_"Why bother." Naruto shrugged and started to swing again. "I tried to do good, but none of the teachers wanted to help me. If I got something right they marked it wrong, if I asked a question they ignored me or called me stupid in front of the class. When I asked for help they said better students needed it over a failure like me." He snarled out the last of that sentence. "So I had to do everything my self. It isn't my fault that my grades were bad when no one would teach me." He looked over to see the women had a confused look on her face._

_"Heavens forbid! Why would they do that?" She asked in a shaky voice. Naruto looked down and gripped the chain of the swing tightly._

_"How should I know? They all make fun of me and call me a monster and-"_

_"Monster? MONSTER?!" Naruto looked over startled by the anger in the stranger's voice. The women was standing up the look on his face was of incoherent rage. "How-how-How could they! When-When he- When he-." She couldn't even speak properly her anger was so strong. Naruto shrunk back unsure how to handle something like this. The women gathered her self and stepped over to kneel by the blond boy. _

_"What they say is not true Naruto." He frowned as the casual familiarity she spoke to him with, but didn't want her angry again. "It is NOT true. You have had a hard time it seems. Far harder than you should have had, but let me tell you that you are not a monster. Nor are you a failure. They have failed YOU Naruto. Look at the last face on the mountain for me. Why is that?"_

_"That's the 4__th__ Hokage." He said simply. Everyone knew that._

_"Yes he is. Did you know that he was considered the greatest genius of the shinobi world? One of the strongest ninjas to have ever lived?" Naruto nodded. "Good. DO you want to know a secret that few know or will ever tell you about him?" Naruto grew very interested and listened on her every word. "When he graduated, his grades and performance were just average. Not remarkable in the least. And you see how he turned out!"_

_"Just average?" Naruto asked in awe. She nodded._

_"Yes. You see Naruto. People can talk about geniuses all they want, but that doesn't really mean much. All a genius means is that the person has a sharp mind and can pick up things faster than most people. If a genius and someone who trained hard met and they were both as powerful as the other then the hard worked has as much a chance of winning as the genius does. In the end determination and the will to never give up is what would win that battle. Not fate deciding what a genius is. So don't you think one moment that you are less than the 4__th__ Naruto. If you don't give up and give on going, you will reach your goal. You will the Hokage."_

_Naruto couldn't take it. He started to cry as he looked on the red haired stranger with awe and joy. No one had ever really encouraged him like this before and this was a stranger who usually would put him down. _

_"I will." He said through his tears. "I will work harder than anyone to prove to them I deserve to be Hokage! That I am not a monster!" The woman gave a smile and wiped one of the tears away with her thump and laid a hand on his shoulder._

_"I believe you and will watch you grow strong Uzimaki Naruto. Don't do it for yourself, but do it to protect those you care about." She smiled again and walked away into the dawning night._

_(End flash back)_

Naruto looked at the woman with wide eyes. "I remember you!" He exclaimed. She smiled.

"I hope so. It has been awhile." Kakashi looked hard at Kushina.

"You have met Naruto before? You didn't tell us this." He asked, he didn't sound pleased at all.

"Yes. When he graduated from the academy over four years ago."

"I…see," he let the matter drop, but everyone could see he was frowning under the mask. Hinata could feel the building tension in her boy-friends body as her hand was on his shoulder. He was suddenly ridged and looked down. She saw tears start to fall on the ground.

"Naruto-kun? What is wrong?" She asked. Everyone turned to look at Naruto. The blond looked up and stared at Kushina with beseeching and heart-broken eyes.

"Why?!" He asked; his voice breaking with grief and a frantic need. No one, not even Sakura had ever seen Naruto like this.

"Why, what Naruto?" Hinata questioned him, very worried about why he was so upset when a long lost hero of the village had returned.

"You must know! Tell me please! Why did he do this to me! Why did he curse me? You know! I know you do. That night you said I wasn't a monster! You know why he did it! Tell me please!" He sobbed and fell to his knees his hands clenching at the grass. The woman slowly knelt down next to the blond and put a hand on his shoulder as he sobbed into the ground. She looked up at the three.

"Could you leave us alone please?"

"Kushina-sama..." Kakashi warned.

"Please Kakashi. He needs to know. I know you and Tsunade disagree, but it is better sooner than later and we need to be alone." The masked jounin looked at her a moment and at the kid he thought would never break down like this. He gave a sigh and nodded. Before he left he touched his student on the shoulder.

"Naruto. I will be at the memorial later tonight when you want to talk. Please come see me. You will need to talk about this." With that he gathered up Sakura and a hesitant Hinata.

"It's ok Hinata. This is a very private and personal matter. He will be fine." He assured her as he led them away from the pair.

Meanwhile Naruto just cried some more while Kushina gathered her thoughts on what to tell him.

"Come Naruto. Gather your tears up, pull yourself together and sit next to me. I will tell you everything." She sat against the try and patted the ground beside her. Slowly Naruto took some breathes and dried his tears on his sleeve. He crawled over tot eh try and leaned back against it staring at her waiting.

Kushina put her arm around him in comfort and pulled him a little close, he resisted a bit but relented and even he didn't know why. This was a dream come true for Kushina. She had wanted to hold her son this way for years beyond remembering and she fought back tears of her own. It was her choice, no matter the need it was her choice and it was him that suffered the most from it. She started her story.

"Those days were very frightening for me and my husband. The kyuubi was on a slow march to the city. Everything that he passed was left burnt, dead and it ruin. It was a slow promise of death meant to scare us more and more as each day wore on, and it was working. So many Ninja were lost trying to slow him down. But he never tired and was never fazed by the assaults. Minato fought him three times using everything he could to try and kill or drive the beast off, but he almost died each time. No one knew what to do. We all thought it was over for the village and the fire country. Without the Village Hidden in the leaf the military power of the Fire country would be ruined and all the other countries would pour in to take it apart piece by piece. Thousands upon thousands of lives would be lost on top of the lives of the villagers.

The demon was two days away when we started the evacuation. It was chaos. People were fleeing in droves. Some left behind everything to escape. Others took their entire homes with them. It wasn't going very well at all. The panic seemed to drive all thoughts of the training each villager was taught in the event of emergency and there was looting and riots. All the ninja were on the front line trying to slow the demon down and so there was no one but half trained gennin to keep control of the village. It wasn't working at all. Minato worked late into the night on one last final hope. A sealing of the beast. But it couldn't be an ordinal seal. Everyone knew about Jinkuurki, but no one had ever been able to contain the nine-tails before without it breaking free in moments and killing the attempted host. So Minato came up with a new sealing method. The only thing that could contain and near god-like demon was a god itself. So he came up with a Jutsu that would beseech the Shinnigami, the God of Death to take the soul of the Kyuubi and hold it for all eternity. But the demons soul was too strong and would take thousands of souls for an even exchange with the Death God to do that. It would negate the purpose of trying to save the village and its shinobi, if he did that. We just didn't have the numbers willing to die, it wouldn't have been right anyways."

Kushina closed her eyes and she recounted the dreadful tail. "So the soul needed to be split in two. Half a soul is not a full soul and the Shinnigami would not require a thousand souls, just twelve. This would diminish the demons power enough for it to be sealed within a human. So now Minato had come up with another problem. How to make sure after the sealing that the demon never came back if it's container died. For all other Bijuu seals would set the beasts free when the host passed on. So Minato had one choice. He needed to make sure that the Kyuubi's soul and the soul of the container became linked. So when the host passed on so would the demon. Forever."

She turned her head and looked down at Naruto, who looked up at her with wide eyes. "The only way to do this was with a new soul. A new born child. The child also would need the chakra potential to keep the seal powered against the Kyuubi's onslaught to free itself as time moved on. For like I said no seal could fully contain the nine-tails forever. The seal would eventually erode. And that my young Naruto is where you came in."

Kushina rushed out and cupped Naruto's cheek with her free hand so impart the importance of her story. "Please believe Naruto that he did NOT want to do this at all. He did not want to place that thing inside you, but there was no other choice and you were the only one with the Chakra potential to keep the beast held. There were three children born the night before the kyuubi was sealed and none of them had even a spark of the strength that you would have. It had to be you if he was to save the village, to rid the world of this evil forever. To spare countless lives Minato had to entrust you with the fate of the Fire-Country.

"So it was done. As the Kyuubi approached the city gates, Minato kissed me good-bye, said he loved me and took you out to both your fates. I never felt so alone and anguished as I did then." She closed her eyes again as her tears started to fall, the memories she buried for so long finally coming out. "He summoned the boss of the Toads, a giant warrior named Gamabuta and there Gamabuta held the fox long enough for my husband to perform the jutsu and get rid of the threat. With the jutsu he gave up his and twelve other leaf nins' souls to the Death God."

"Gave up his soul?" Naruto broke in with his first question. Kushina nodded.

"The Death God demands souls for what he wants, remember. He will take a soul for a soul, to battle in his belly for all eternity. My husband and those will never be able to move on and will be in that hell for eternity. That was the truest sacrifice ever made in this world. Death can be easy, Naruto, but to give up eternal paradise for those you love. That takes a courage and love that is rarely seen in the world and it is the sacrifice that the gods look to. Giving up your life when you are willing is not a true sacrifice. A true sacrifice, is not wanting to give up something. Wanting to hold onto it so badly that it is beyond enduring to do otherwise. Giving up their family forever, not to be able to go to the other side to see them again eventually, that made all the difference and why only twelve souls were required."

Naruto looked down trying to digest all this. "So now you now Naruto. You were the only one he could choose and you are a hero Naruto. You hold at bay the bane of the Country of Fire. The keep prisoner the greatest scourge on this planet. A demon that can not ever be defeated or killed in battle. Regardless of Akatsuki, you will live a long life filled with great joy. And when you pass at a ripe old age, so to will the Kyuubi pass with you. You will be the unknown hero to millions of lives down the countless centuries who will never have to know the destruction the Kyuubi would bring. They won't know you; they won't care for you and eventually even History will forget you. But you know Naruto. You know what you do and have done. So now I ask this Naruto." He looked up again as the question. He arm tightened around him some more.

"Knowing all this now, would you honestly trust anyone else with such an important task?" She asked her son. Naruto looked away and thought for a moment. When he spoke it was quiet and subdued, but filled with a sadness and resolve,

"No. I've seen too many who give up too easily. I wouldn't trust this or want this on any other." Kushina withdrew her arm and moved in front of him, her legs folding under her. She took his hands in her own and looked beseechingly into his eyes.

"Can you forgive him Naruto?" She begged. "Can you forgive me?" He looked down at their hands and back up to her face and didn't hesitate.

"Yes. I know now, I always wondered and no one could tell me, no one knew. Baa-chan just said that he chose me but she didn't know why it had to be me or why it had to be a baby." Kushina laughed merrily, her heart uplifted with his forgiveness, but she had to laugh at his words.

"Baa-chan? You call Tsunade-sama Baa-chan?" He blushed and pouted a bit looking away.

"It suits her. She is kinda like a big sister, old enough to be my grandmother rolled into one. It's hard to describe our relationship, but that's what I call her. It's kind of a game now, I call her baa-chan, and she pretends to get mad or throw something at me. I laughed and duck and in private she kisses me on my forehead and I tell her all kinds of things. So like I said, a big sister and grand-mother all rolled into one." He looked at her daring her to say anything about it. She just laughed and smiled fondly.

"Yes she has a way about her doesn't she?" She looked up to the clouds as a silence formed. Naruto looked up as well and started to process everything he learned. He had to be the one; there was no one else or no other way. The fact that the 4th tried and tried again for some other alternative made him feel better. This curse was a last desperate resort and a permanent solution, not a temporary one as he always feared it to be. His parents didn't have any choice if they were to- his parents. His birth his parents. This Kushina probably knew who his parents were. He had never felt so excited as this prospect. He tried not to think about not having parents as much as he could but it always came back till be pushed it down again.

"Kushina-sama!" He said excitedly

"Please Naruto. Kushina is just fine." He nodded.

"Kushina. You said I was born and he checked me that night to see if I was strong enough." Kushina slowly nodded and her eyes suddenly grew wary and her face guarded. "So you know! You know who my parents were! Can you tell me who they were? Are they alive? Did they give up their lives as well to stop the Nine-tales? Were they heroes?" He gushed all this out in one quick hurried breath. He watched eagerly waiting for an answer, licking his lips anxiously.

Kushina was dreading this. She knew she had to tell him, she thought maybe she escaped it when their conversation drifted to Tsunade, but he picked up on the story quickly and what some of it meant. She was scared. 'How will he react?' She thought. 'He is going to hate me. How can any justification be enough for him to forgive me his loneness and pain. He has to know though; he is old enough and strong enough for the secret to finally be revealed.' Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and readied herself when she opened them again, her face was the saddest Naruto had ever seen. He grew slightly apprehensive at her expression.

"Yes Naruto. I know who you parents are. And yes, your father sacrificed his soul."

"So he's a hero?"

"Oh yes Naruto. He is the greatest of heroes." She looked at him with that intent sadness.

"So who was he? Is his name on the memorial?"

"He has his own memorial Naruto and people honor his face and praise him everyday." Naruto looked at her in confusion.

"Where?" She took a deep breath.

"The Hokage Mountain. Naruto your father is Namikaze Minato, the Yodaime."

Naruto's hearth stopped and he grew slightly dizzy. Kushina heard a gasp behind her. She turned to See Kakashi, Sakura and Hinata had returned and heard the last part of it. Hinata's hand was covering her mouth. Kakashi was looking down to the ground and Sakura's jaw was hanging open in astonishment. Naruto didn't notice any of it. The 4th. The 4th was his father. He looked beyond the tree-line towards the village and beyond that the face of the 4th carved into the stone. He was the son of the greatest ninja the village had ever seen. He had mastered and perfected his fathers on techniques. He felt so much pride in his father and himself that tears came to his eyes with the smile.

"Wow." He said and smiled at Kushina. "I am somebody. I am Namikaze Naruto. Son of the Yodaime. Thank you Kushina-sama. To think your husband was my fath-"He stopped and stared at the red haired woman in front of him. Her husband...his father. His vision suddenly tunneled in the world spur rapidly and he started to hyperventilate and gasp for breath. He fell to his hands, shaking uncontrollably. 'She is my mother. I have a mom. She is my mother.' He thought struggling to get a hold of his thoughts and the situation.

Behind the two Hinata started to run to Naruto, but Kakashi and Sakura held her back.

"He needs to do this on his own Hinata. You can't be a part of this." The jounin whispered to him. The two girls just looked back and forth between the blond and his mother. They winced as a horrible cry took to the wind. Naruto sat back and let out a heartfelt cry of grief that tore through everyone's heart like a knife. The girls started to cry and looked at Kushina, his mother, with such murderous intent that the woman winced, but didn't look at them, she stared only at her son, her tears pooling in the soil. She hesitantly reached out to touch Naruto on the shoulder. His hand lashed out with such force that it almost broke her wrist as he slapped it away.

"NO! NOOOO!" he screamed at her, his eyes turning a deep crimson and whispers growing more pronounce. "Why? Why did you leave me?" Kushina winced and seemed to grow smaller and smaller at each accusation flung at her. "What gives you the right to leave me alone, to give me up and then just come back like this? WHHHYY!!" He screamed and started to pound on her chest, bruising her skin and bone. She took it stoically, her tears every bit as heartfelt as Naruto's. Naruto fell to the ground and curled in a ball, such grief overtaking him that he couldn't think or stand or do anything but cry. Kushina moved closer and gathered her son into her arms, ignoring and overpowering his feeble efforts to stop her. She held her son tight against her body and rocked back and forth crying with him.

"Oh my Naruto. My dear son." She said softly, her voice broken through the tears. "I was always there with you. When you hurt your knee on the playground when you were three, I helped you up. When you couldn't find your way through the city I guided you. When you cried yourself to sleep at night I crept in and tucked you in kissing you as you slept. When you couldn't eat I provided you food. When you graduated the academy I was there. When you went on your first mission after that cat, I washed. And when you stood to strong and proud in that arena I watched. So proud at my lovely son for his words and strength. When you left for training I followed for days. I was always there my sweet sweet son, helping you stand when you fell" Naruto calmed a little at these words and looked up at her in wonder.

"Why?" he asked is a scared whisper, looking more like the lost little boy of six than a strong shinobi of sixteen. Kushina backed away and took his hands staring to earnestly at his he couldn't look away or deny her touch again.

"It had to be Naruto! We had to keep you safe. Your father had many enemies. Entire countries who wanted nothing more that to get revenge, to see me dead just to spite his anguished soul. No one but a select few knew I had a child, they knew I was alive though. Five days after your father died the first attempt on me came, they tried for you as well when they saw I had a son. People would be afraid of you not for the nine-tails, but of what you represent. The son of the 4th, who was also a Jinkuurki, would be a huge threat to any nation that would think to attack Konoha. Three days after that a second attempt came at me while I was recovering from the first. A third a week after that. Please, please, please understand Naruto. I had to keep you safe. You are my son, I couldn't see you die and I had to live to come back to you one day when you didn't need such protection."

"Why didn't you take me with you?" The grief struck blond asked.

"I couldn't! It wouldn't have made a difference in your safety! I would be on the run all the time. I wouldn't be able to protect myself and you every time. Every Shurkin, every kunai, every technique throw at him would have killed you if any of them hit, and many did! For two years I ran. I had to fake my death three times till I was finally able to fully disappear. It was then that I snuck back to the village and watched you as I could between my travels and investigations. I went into dangerous places to make sure that no one found out about you, learning all I could about the enemies or would be enemies of Konoha and you. You had to be kept safe Naruto. I was destroyed, absolutely destroyed when Minato died. I couldn't lose you. If any harm came to you to would have killed me! I know it sounds heartless, but I also had to think of the Kyuubi inside of you. If you were hurt or killed it would have broken free. The bonding wasn't complete and still isn't complete, if you had died it would have made Minato's and the others sacrifice be in vain. All wasted."

"Oh my Naruto. Saratobi and I tried to think of some other way, but my leaving and your heritage dissolving into mystery was the only way to keep you safe till you were strong enough so that the powers wouldn't come after you. Till you were strong enough to fight back. Please forgive me my son. I know I don't deserve it, but please find it in your heart to give me this chance. I am here. Begging for you to have me!" She was shaking from the stress and sorrow that was consuming her. All the long years had lead to this, a fleeting hope, a flickering dream, that he could forgive her and they could be mother and son. The two kunoichi behind her were crying now, dabbing their eyes with their sleeves. Kakashi was turned away looking on the ground, struggling with something.

Naruto just stared at the ground after a long minute he spoke up. "Please leave me alone. I have to think." Kushina started to reach out, but he stalled her with a raised had and spoke softly. "Please. I will come to you to talk when I al ready, but now just leave me alone."

Slowly she nodded and gathered herself and stood up. She started to walk away the others joining her to leave Naruto his peace; his voice stopped them for a moment. "Hinata?" The young woman turned quickly to her love. "Could you stay please?" She didn't need to be told twice, she ran to her boyfriend and dropped down beside him, her arm going around him and started to whisper soothingly in his ear. The rest continued on.

No one said anything until they approached the village. As they went through the gate Sakura turned to Kushina with narrowed eyes. "I have known Naruto since he was a kid. I have to say that at this moment I hate you." Kushina glanced at the girl briefly and started to walk away. She stopped for a moment and turned back to look Sakura in the face.

"You can hate me till the end of days and spit at my name through the long eternity, and it would still be a pale comparison to the hate I have for myself every minute of every day." She turned and continued to walk on. Kakashi laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder and looked her in the eye.

"Many didn't understand either when she came back last week. Tsunade and I, in no uncertain terms, wanted to kill her till she explained what happened. Go over the story you heard on why she left Sakura, trust me when I say that now that we know, there was no other way for Naruto to survive." He patted her a moment then hurried to catch up to Namikaze Kushina.

Sakura stood at the main gate for many minutes going over everything till she had to step out of the way of a horse drawn carriage. "Excuse me young lady." Sakura looked up to the occupant of the carriage and blinked. It was the strangest looking women she had ever seen. Incredibly beautiful, but with an outlandish hair-style split into eight very long braids pooled at her feet in an extravagant kimono.

"How many I help you?" Sakura getting over her momentary shock asked.

"I was hoping you could direct me towards the best Inn the village has to offer." The woman's harmonic voice asked. Sakura nodded and pointed towards the large tower in the distance.

"The Blossoms Wind is of the finest patronage and one of the finest in the country. It is several blocked before The Hokage's tower if you follow this street. It will be on the right, you can't miss it, it is very spacious with its own personal hot-string and bathhouse."

The woman's eyes lit up. "Oh very nice. I haven't enjoyed a place like that in many years. My thanks kunoichi." She nodded and motioned for her driver to continue and she lay back in her seat. Sakura watched them ride down the street and shook her head at the weirdness of the day and limped home, still having trouble from her mission injuries. She needed a good bath herself to think over the revealing truths of the day.

-

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Tsunade gave a great yawn as she set aside the last of her reports. She hated all the paperwork. No matter how much of it she tried to delegate away Shizune always managed to throw the crap back into her lap in a worse state than before. Even when she sent her assistant off on a mission for a week or more Shizune's machinations still managed to stop her from delegating the work away. "How does she do it?" She asked herself. She turned in her chair and looked out the window over the night time village. She was thinking of going for a quick run to a bar when there was a knock on the door. Giving a soft sigh she turned around. "Come in." She said.

Her lips pursed when a very subdued and troubled Naruto came in. Kakashi told her earlier that Kushina had told Naruto everything about his childhood, including that she was his mother. From her understanding the boy hadn't taken it too well. Kakashi nodded that Kushina however had a way to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra from leaking out in some way. His eyes noted a faint glow from a necklace she wore when Naruto almost went into a berserker rage. They had asked Kushina when they cornered her and the woman had informed them that it is tied to the key that now resided in Naruto, that with the key inside of him it would make the chakra harder to come out, giving Naruto some further protection, and that her necklace was a sort of amplifier for the seal, that when she was close to him it would give the seal strength when chakra was channeled into it. Once again Minato's genius impressed everyone long after he was dead.

She shook the thoughts away and assessed Naruto with a quick look. She motioned for him to sit and pulled out a battle of sake' from her drawer. Filling two small finger bowls she passed one to Naruto who quickly downed it earning a raised brow from Tsunade, who sipped at hers. She poured one more for Naruto then put the bottle away. That sat there sipping in silence for many long minutes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The hokage finally asked. The boy sat a bit as if trying to find the words.

"Did you know?" He asked.

"Who your parents were? Yes. Myself the third and, Jiriya knew. Did we know that Kushina was alive? No we did not. Even Saratobi-sensei thought she had died."

"Why didn't anyone tell me? It wouldn't have hurt so much then." Tsunade sighed and downed the rest of her cup, flinging it away to let it break in a corner.

"As always for your protection. You were a very competitive kid Naruto, you still are. You wouldn't have understood when you were younger and the minute some bully or hotshot made fun of you or called you an orphan you would have shouted to the world who your father was and you would have been dead within months. Then you left with Jiriya and she didn't dare tell you with Akatsuki out there. They would have hunted you down then not only for the nine-tails, but in the hopes you would know some of the 4ths more potent techniques like the Hirashin."

Naruto thought this over and eventually nodded. "Your right I would have." He looked at her and bit his lip. "What should I do baa-chan? I don't know how to feel about this."

"Forgive her." Tsunade said simply. Naruto stared at her in astonishment. "It is there for the taking Naruto. Your mother, strong, healthy and loving. Make no mistake Naruto, I can read people very well and that woman loves you more than anything else. She gave up as much as you did. Imagine how you felt these past hours and imagine living with that for sixteen years. You don't know what is around the corner Naruto. She is here now, she might not be tomorrow. Akatsuki will find out who she is soon and they will have to go through her to get to you. Take the chance while it is available, don't live in regrets, I learned that the hard way, I'm sure you will remember."

Naruto looked at her for several long minutes then walked over and gave her a hug. Tsunade responded how she always did and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Shinobi or not, there are times when a boy needs to be a boy and a hug could make everything better. He smiled and hurried to go find his mother.

-

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-

Kushina was sitting on the face of the 4th. It was one of her favorite thinking spots and she knew Naruto would come there eventually, she had watched him many times over the years do just that, sometimes to her great annoyance when she wanted to think for herself there. She was sitting back thinking about the day and staring at the stars when she felt a familiar chakra presence beside her. She tensed waiting for her son to tell her to get lost and never come back. She wasn't sure she could stop herself from stepping off the edge of the mountain if he did. They didn't say anything for a very long time.

"I remember that time when I was three. It's murky though. Could you tell me about it?" He finally spoke up. She closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears that suddenly leapt up.

"You were on the slide, the matron of the orphanage as busy trying to keep all the other kids from wandering off. You were so cute and looked like your father when he was little. You had on these faded blue pants and white tee-shirt. As you started to slide down this foul old kid have you a rough shove from behind, the little prick, she when down too fast and off balance and hid your knee on the side, bruising it. You sat there and glared up top where that brat was laughing, I wanted to walk over there and throw the kid across the yard. You had some tear start to wheel up, but you didn't cry you just sat there rubbing your knee. I came up and rubbed some sand on the bruise. You looked up at me with this look of awe on your face. I should have known then that you weren't being treated right. Helped you stand up and gave you a pat on the head and you laughed and ran off again to play. I did allow myself to perform a low level water jutsu at the bottom of the slide so the boy who pushed you landed in mud. He however cried and bawled over getting dirty."

There was another long silence and neither could look at the other. Finally Naruto spoke.

"If we are to do this, I can't lose you. People think I am strong, but I know I'm not that strong. When Akatsuki comes for me, and they will soon, I don't want you to protect me. They will try to kill you to get to me and it will work. You have to stay out of it. You protected me all my life; let me protect you for once. I am stronger than I let anyone know."

Kushina digested the words before responding. "Naruto, I have watched them for a long time. They were moving in the time of your father, starting up in the shadows and gathering people like Orochimaru. I am sure you are very strong but-" Naruto interrupted her at this point.

"No buts. I can't become connected to you if you can't promise this. I really am stronger than I let people know. I have been holding back during my training so in case anyone who is watching doesn't know what I am fully capable of now. I train late at night in the forbidden forest. I am very strong, stronger than Kakashi sensei now, I'm not kidding. Please. I want this so badly. I want you to be my mom, but I can't do that if you can't stay out of the fight."

They looked at each other. Kushina saw for the first time that her son really was more like his father than just in looks. He had that same determination and will that gave people strength. Carefully she nodded. "Ok…just … don't be stupid Naruto. The same thing goes for you. I couldn't live if you died."

Naruto bit his lip and she bit hers as well, both in exactly the same way with similar expressions on their face. Suddenly they rush together in a fierce hug.

"Naruto?" She said still holding him tightly.

"Yeah?" He replied against her chest.

"We really have to do something about your outfit." The boy laughed into her vest, the sound lifting her heart.

"I love you so much Naruto." She whispered in his ear.

"I love you to …mom." Naruto said for the first time in his lonely sorrowful life.

-

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-

High above the skies of The Village Hidden in the Leaf a dark figure watched the scene below. Black wings of paper flapped softly from the black robes the black hired woman. The black paper was perfect for nighttime work. She scowled as the mother and son embraced.

"You stupid woman. I warned you, now I will have to kill you. You should have stayed away Uzimaki Kushina." Konan said softly, the words lost in the high altitude air. Suddenly the wings plunged down and she darted to the ground sailing back down into the village. The village she held in the palm of her hand.

.

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**A/N**

-I have to say that I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Once I started I couldn't stop till I finished. It took several hours, but I felt it was worth it.

-I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I haven't ever seen a good introduction of Kushina into any fan fic so wanted to make a good one. I only hope I succeeded. Like I said earlier I can't stand the thought of orphans and wanted to give Naruto something special. The kid deserves it.

Next Chapter Naruto is promoted to Chunnin and gets invited to prepare for a Jounin exam! Can he make it through the toughest jounin qualifications in all the Hidden Villages?


	8. Chapter 8 Crash Down Through You

**Chapter 8**

**Crash Down Through You**

**(s/fx)**-KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!-

**(s/fx)**-grumble

**(s/fx)**-KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"GO AWAY!" a grumpy voice shouted.

CRASH

"WHAT THE-"A disheveled and very tired Naruto was startled from his bed. Staring around wildly with blurred eyes he instinctively made a Rasengan and swung it back in forth in the air. "I'm gonna crush whoever woke me up. He felt his hand get slapped dispelling the jutsu and something bounce on his bed. Wiping his eyes he blinked and focused on the Mass of red in front of him. "Huh?"

"Wake up kiddo! It's time to pack." Naruto shook off the last of his sleep and scowled at his mother. No matter who or the cause waking him up this early never put him in a gracious mood.

"Go away! Let me sleep." He pushed her off the bed and threw the covered over his head. He tried to fall back to sleep but several voices and his mother's tart commands finally made him, grudgingly, peek out from his sheets. He has wished he hadn't and in a second he was standing on top of his bed pointing at the two men in the room that were gathering up his possession.

"What the hell do you think your doing? Put that down!" His mother came out of his closet with most of the few clothes he owned and just threw them haphazardly into a suitcase. "HEY! KUSH- MOM! What is going on? Put my clothes back!" His words fell on deaf ears and he watched her open up some of his drawlers and pull out his underwear.

"AHHH! HEY NOW!" he crossed the room faster than anyone would have believed him capable of and had his boxes stuffed behind him in a jiffy. "You can't just go through my underwear!"

"Nonsense." Kushina replied, her hands deftly finding holes in his weaving defense and plucking various things away, tossing them behind her into another suitcase. "You need to pack."

"Pack for what? HEY!" he shouted to the men who started to go through his fridge and toss out all his food. "You touch my ramen and the only thing you will ever touch again is your own ass when I shove that hand up in it!" The man stopped startled and looked to the women who shook her head.

"Toss it." She said simply and resumed the masterful theft of his clothes.

"But but… my ramen." He face faulted.

"I refused to let your father live on ramen and I had to watch for years as you degenerated into that pathetic habit. You are going to eat something different from now on." Naruto drew the line at this. Snapping his hands together three clones appeared and leapt to guard his precious ramen.

"You take my ramen woman and it will be a war!" His mother smiled sweetly causing him to worry a bit.

"As you wish." She started to form seals at blinding speed and suddenly gushes of water erupted from the floor and swept the clones and two men away as it slammed into his treasure filled frig sending it sailing out of the window. The real Naruto leapt to try and save his food, but a hand snatched at the back of his pajamas and casually tossed him on the, now soaking, bed.

"My ramen…" he said weakly staring forlornly at the window that his food had been thrown.

"You two. Get off the floor and get to work." His mother snapped at the men. "Gather the personal possessions; leave the bed and major furniture.

"what is going on? Where are they taking my stuff?" Naruto pouted at his mother, sitting at the edge of his bed.

"To our home. Minato and I had a very nice simple house close to the tower. It's a nice three story house. I had some people clean the estate about a week ago and it is finally livable again. The dust was just horrible." She snapped the suitcases shut having finally loaded his clothes in. Naruto just stared in confusion. A new home? This was the only place he had ever lived. This was his home.

"I am doing just fine here! I like this place, it suits me!" He argued heatedly. Kushina sighed looking at her son and sat next to him throwing an arm over his shoulders.

"Naruto. You need more space. This place is a broom closet. You would soon be moving out with your new chunnin salary, I know you would, so come live with me and we can be close to one another.

"Chunnin salary? But I'm only a gennin." He protested. His mother just laughed and patted his cheek.

"As of this morning The Hokage promoted you to chunnin with all duties that is assigned to it. How else are you going to take the Jounin exam unless you're a chunnin?" She threw the surprisingly new news at him.

"I'm a chunnin? I get to take the jounin exams?!" He felt any arguments melt away at moving and punched into the air. "Hell yeah!" Kushina laughed fondly at her son's enthusiasm and stood up grabbing him by the arm dragging him away.

"Time to go home Naruto."

Naruto found his new room amazing. It was in a nice area of the village and he had the entire third floor to himself. It was spacious at least ten times the size of his old apartment. His mother had said that he could decorate anyway he wanted. He grinned and explained what he wanted and she laughed and shook her head. "Naruto, that will be hard to do and very expensive. I don't have that much money."

"Oh I do! Ero-sennin left almost all his money to me! It won't be a problem! If you can order it done I will pay for it!" His mother thought it over, but considering how much she owed Naruto, she couldn't say no. Reluctantly she agreed and the plans for the Uzimaki dream home began. It was quiet outlandish. He wanted an entire wall painted to look like a realistic beach front. On the other side where his bead was going to be he would have lots of plants and a fountain that was pumped through the walls from the house well. He always liked the sound of running water. The builders they contacted that day said it would take about a week to do everything, but the price was much lower than they expected. The painter they hired however would cost much more, since he was quite famous in the Fire Country.

They planned spent the rest of the day moving in and going shopping for normal house needs. Kushina was delighted however when Naruto grabbed some money, made several lists and gave them to clones he created. Within an hour they had everything they needed for the time being and could spend the rest of the day talking. Around noon Hinata came around to survey the new home and brought a house warming gift. Kushina made them a nice meal, refusing to cook Naruto ramen, and the three talked and got to know one another better.

"So Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke up. "Do you think you will complete the jutsu soon? Kakashi-sama mentioned that he wanted to work on some speed training exercises with you."

"Maybe Hinata-chan. I have it down; I just need to test throwing it and how the wind nature will react to the new core."

"What is this jutsu you are talking about Naruto?" Kushina broke in taking a sip of her wine.

"I call it the Futon-Rasen-shuriken. It's the rasengan with high elemental recomposition added to it." Kushina coughed and spit up some of her wine. She gathered herself and looked at Naruto in awe.

"You added your element type to the Rasengan?"

"Yep!" he grinned.

"Naruto! That's amazing. Your father spent years trying to do that and never made any progress. How did you do it?"

"With shadow clones. I have one add the elemental chakra to it while I form the rasengan and that's that. But it caused too much damage to myself when I use it, so I needed a way to make it a mid to long range jutsu, that is where most of my training as been going into the past three weeks. I think I finally got it down thanks to Hinata and Kakashi-sensei." He resumed his meal. Kushina could only look at her son with stunned wonder. 'At this rate he will be stronger than Minato.' She thought and she too resumed their meal talking about the new jutsu.

When they finished their meal Hinata bade them good-bye and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek, both blushing as Kushina chuckled. "Don't mind me, just let me get my camera." Hinata fled in terror.

"So okaa-san" Naruto asked her. "What do you want to do now?" Kushina reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair, she was always finding way to touch or hug him, he found it very comforting each time she did.

"We are going to talk about the jounin exam." She reached for a pad of paper and pencil and shoved them into Naruto's hands. The boy looked at them doubtfully, but at the stern look from his mother he gulped and put the pencil to the paper for notes.

"The Jounin exam is much different from the chunnin. The chunnin measured teamwork and the will to be a shinobi. In the Jounin exam you won't be in a class room and there won't be many of you trying for it. It is just you and you have to petition for the selection process and have it reviewed by the Hokage. Now I have already taken the liberty of doing this for you and Tsunade-sama agreed. So now you must prepare.

The exam focuses on you as an individual. It will be brutal, harsh and very dangerous. Many have died trying to make it through. You Will Not Take This Lightly." She emphasized each word.

"I am pretty strong though!" He countered.

"Yes, which means it will be harder for you." He looked confused for a moment.

"Ok let me explain. The chunnin exam had set standards to pass, standards that each person and team desiring to be chunnin had to meet. The Jounin exam is a test of your own strength. There is no standard for this. Your test will be made specifically to challenge you to the utmost of your ability and beyond. So it doesn't matter how strong you are, it will still he hard for whoever takes it. Do you understand now?"

Naruto nodded, taking down notes.

"Ok to prepare we are going to go over a list of all your jutsu and how you normally use them. I will tell you common ways that you might find on a mission that would counter that abilities and we will work on ways to counter that counter. So," She took out her own notepad to begin writing. "Tell me what you know and at what level it is."

Naruto scratched his head and thought for a moment. "Well As far as Futon skills go, I have the futon-rasengan, which is nothing more than wind chakra shaped like the rasengan. It can generally destroy a tree and cut up a large rock. It isn't as damaging as the rasengan, but does a wider range of damage when it goes off. Then I can also add my wind nature to weapons now making them sharper and stronger, but I don't have the chakra blades I need to take full effect. I also have my gale-storm technique. That creates a small tornado I guess with lots of wind that slices even through trees that it hits. I can make it last about five seconds before it dispels. That's about it for my Futon skills." He thought some more as his mother jotted this down.

"I've managed to use one fire natured jutsu. Katon: Dragon's tongue. That creates a strong stream of fire from my mouth. It has a distance of about thirty to forty feet give or take, if I really put a lot of chakra behind it I can make it go sixty, but that takes a lot out of me and gives the enemy more time to dodge. I've been working on the fireball that Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei can use, but haven't had much luck."

"That just leaves my Rasengan. The basic rasengan you know about, but I've managed to create my twice cored rasengan, it's much more powerful, but I really think no matter how much I train it could take up to five seconds to form correctly. The damage is about three times the normal rasengan and if mastered I should be able to throw it, my strength will depend on how far it can go before it dispels, I still have to test that though. Finally there is the Futon-Rasen-Shurkin. That is the combination of the Futon-Rasengan and the rasengan. I have to use the twice cored rasengan to be able to throw it because Baa-chan said it causes damage at the cellular level destroying all nerve endings, if I use it up close I could ruin my arm forever. Well that's about it." Naruto finished up the summery.

"How are your taijutsu levels?" Kushina asked, still taking down all these notes, making small remarks next to each one.

"That is pretty good now. With my mass clone training I am almost to Lee's level, who is a taijutsu master who was trained by Gai."

"And your speed?"

"Eh. That's about average." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"We will work on that then like Kakashi suggested."

"So what do you think?" asked Naruto.

Kushina looked over the notes once more and pursed her lips. "There is a lot of potential. You don't have much versatility as far as jutsu, but what you do have will work well. Your moves are simple, but potent. Your shadow clones are the backbone to all your tactics, they will focus on taking that away from you, so we will need a way to work around that. You fire skill isn't worth much, but if we combine it with your Gale storm technique it could be pretty devastating."

"How so?"

"Well your wind element is very strong, and fire gains strength from it. Used together, well you get the picture. Even better if you made a mass of clones, half using the gale-storm technique and half using your dragon's tongue then the strength of that could take out a platoon of enemy shinobi instantly. The downside to that however is during the night it would give away your position. But is still an unexpected option that you could use."

"Looking all this over Naruto I see only one way we can get you through the test. You will have to use clones, no matter what they come up with. Use the clones not as close ranged, but keep the mid to far as support for you. You will have to go toe to toe with whatever you face using taijutsu and the Rasengan. The only way to do that consistently is to improve your speed." She shook her head not liking this.

"No problem." Naruto shrugged, making Kushina grind her teeth. 'Yes far too much like Minato.' She thought.

"Not great Naruto. We will need to make you four to five times faster than you are now and we only have three days to do it."

"What?! Three days! What the hell? I can't increase my speed that much in three days, even with the mass clone training!" he jumped up exclaiming.

"Yes you can, there is a technique that you will have to master. It will be the hardest thing you have even had to do. But I promise you if you master this, no matter the test they give you, you will make it through and it will make you at least four times faster. Maybe even ten times." She finished. Naruto stared at her like she was crazy.

"How? Speed is due to body strength, I can't mass clone increase my speed. That takes good old fashioned hard core stamina training!"

"This doesn't. Naruto, you are going to learn to Wind walk." His eyes narrowed and started at her doubtfully.

"Wind…walk." Kushina nodded. "What is that? I don't remember reading it in the books."

"Not everything is in those books and library Naruto. To put it simply, air has substance and weight. Indeed it actually has a great deal of weight. If you manipulate your chakra and wind nature correctly you will literally be able to walk on air. And if you master that, then when you run on the ground you will notice a dramatic increase to your speed."

"Wow! You're going to teach me to fly?!"

"Baka! No." She replied sharply. "Listen to what I said. Wind walk. You can't fly, you will be stepping on air to lift you up. You won't be able to just float or fly about freely, that takes specialized jutsu for something like that and considering you're a close range fighter would be pointless for you to develop something flight." Naruto looked away at her reprimand.

"I will do it! Three days or three hours, I will finish it. Let's start!" Kushina nodded and led him to the back garden, there was enough room maybe for a couple hundred clones, but not the full thousand he usually used.

"There isn't enough room for all my clones!"

"That's because too many clones will actually be harmful for this training. It will be utterly exhausting on your chakra supplies. Your the only person I know who uses wind element and has such a large chakra pool."

"Hey okaa-san, what nature was my father?" Naruto asked.

"Space/Time."

"I thought that wasn't a real element and so that's why everyone could use it."

"That's true, but it is beyond rare, almost unheard of for someone to have an affinity for space/time. It is one of the reasons Minato was so strong, that affinity allowed him to perform the Hirashin no jutsu. The Flying Thunder God technique that defeated an entire army in the blink of an eye."

"What exactly was that? I hear about it a lot, but no one seems to know what it is or how it worked."

"Well in layman terms If used right the Hirashin No Jutsu allowed you to move at the speed of light. I'm not sure either exactly how it worked though, it always pissed me off that Minato never fully explained it to me. He was always babbling about wanting me to figure it out for myself. I can tell you the basics though. The principle behind it is simple, the actual use is amazingly difficult and why it was considered a SS class technique. Minato had special chakra kunai infused with his own chakra and blood during their making. This attuned the kunai to his essence even more so than normal chakra blades. Remember he has a space/time affinity to the special kunai were developed to enhance that type of jutsu. Then there was a special seal inscribed into each one. It was a seven point seal, which only Minato knew how to create. The idea behind it was that he would throw the Kunai the seals would activate creating a large summoning area, then with thought alone he could summon himself to any point within that thrown area, usually 100 yards. The seals created a multi-dimensional space for him to move through. There was a seal for destination, essence, summon, position, space, range and one other I could never figure out." The hard part about the jutsu is that you have to summon yourself and not another being. You have to do it with no seals and no blood, the kunai is supposed to do that for you, linked to you in some way. But like I said it was way to complex for any other Shinobi and the fact that Minato had affinity for space/time is what allowed him to learn it."

"So there is no way I could ever do it?' Naruto looked crestfallen.

"I'm afraid not Naruto." Kushina said sadly. "I am not aware that he had any time to leave you instructions on the jutsu. So without the affinity developing it on your own would be an exercise in futility. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It would have been nice, but I will become strong in my own way, not a copy of my father." She smiled and gave a small nod.

"Now let's begin. Listen closely before you make your clones. In wall walking you learned to attach your chakra to an object to hold yourself. In water walking you learned to regulate your chakra output and push out keeping you above the water. With Wind walking you will need to do both at the same time to a much larger degree." He moved out to the center of the garden. "Now watch closely." She closed her eyes and took a breath and summoned a great deal of chakra to her foot. Naruto watched as he could barely begin to see the actual chakra forming on her heal, she slowly brought her foot down and lifted her other foot. Instead of falling for about a second she was floating on the air before she dropped. She sighed and wiped a beat of sweat from her forehead.

"That was cool!" Naruto grinned. His mother nodded and took a seat on the bench.

"It uses a lot of chakra for me, that's why this is an excellent jutsu for you since it won't drain you as much as it does others. Ok listen up again. What you need to do is focus your nature chakra at the bottom of your foot and try to pull in the air around it. You will need to pull in a great deal of air so that it almost becomes as dense as water and at the same time push out with a surge of chakra very quickly. Your weight will scatter the wind no matter how much you pull in since there is nothing around to support the small platform you will create. The sharp surge will give you just enough boosts for a small jump. When used right you will be taking larges steps in the air. This will let you either escape messy situations or close in on a long range user surprising him or her. DO you understand the concept and what you need to do?" She asked and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah I get it. How should I start?"

"Simple. Try to do what I did. Create a platform of air about an inch or so off the ground and try to stand on it; it will take awhile just even some resistance to your stepping down is good. Remember, pull in a huge amount of air under your foot as you step down and push off with your chakra before it dissipates. It requires precise timing." With his famous grin he brought his hands together and made about two hundred clones. In minutes there were all at work on the technique. Kushina watched for a little while, giving some tips then got up and headed towards the house.

"Okaa-san where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"You can do this without me now that you know the concept, I'm going out to get you some new clothes and to say hello to some old friends." She replied.

"New clothes! Awesome! Can you get me one of Gai and Lee's suits? Those green ones?!"

"……Oh hell no." Naruto face faulted.

"But-"  
"No." he pouted and went back to work. 'Like hell I will have my son seen in something like that' She thought as she gathered her things and left for the town.

--

Kushina was going through several tailors trying to find something for Naruto. He needed something with a little style, but not too outlandish. She insisted on doing this for him as she got the feeling that if he did it he would come out in a purple jumpsuit with a pink leaf symbol on the front. But what would be look good in. She was moving though one rack of a shop when something caught her eye in the corner. She made her way across the shop and picked it up. She liked it. It would suit him perfectly. She could picture him in this easily and a new jounin vest. Grinning she bought that and one other item and headed off to see Tsunade. She couldn't wait to see Naruto's face as she marched with an evil self serving grin.

She trudged up those long steps grumbling about one of the good reasons to have fled the village so long ago. The steps were a killer. Resting at the top she gave a last scowl and headed in towards the office.

Tsunade was throwing some darts at a board while Shizune was berating her about leaving paperwork till later. "Oh leave off Shizune, before I send you out on a C class Mission to the Ice country." Thankfully this shut the assistant up. No one ever wanted to go to that hell hole to freeze. Looking askance to the lazy Hokage she turned to the door when there was a knock. "Come in." Tsunade said. The door swung open to reveal a cheerfully singing Kushina.

"Good afternoon Hokage-sama! Shizune!" The red haired kunoichi said as she flopped down into a seat.

"Things went well with Naruto last night I take it." Kushina nodded in affirmation giving Shizune a wave as she left the two alone.

"They went very well. He moved into my home this morning and is training as we speak."

"Oh? What do you have him working on?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Not saying, it's a surprise."

"What? We need to know these things for the Jounin exam Kushina!" Tsunade begged.

"Too bad, every shinobi needs a few secrets and tricks up their sleeve." The blond's mother grinned. "Anyways, that's why I came here. To talk about the exam."

Tsunade threw the last dart, missing by a mile. "What do you want to know?"

"Have you finished the review? Will he be allowed to try?" Tsunade reached over and picked up a thick folder, it was Naruto's file, and opened it.

"Uzimaki Naruto, Chunnin. Missions partaken. Nineteen D class missions, 3 C class Missions, 2B 1 A class and 2 S Class. Missions Successful. 15 D Class, 2 C class, 1 B class and 1 S-Class." Tsunade closed the file. "He has a rather high failure rate Kushina; he might not be ready yet."

"Bah! Don't give me that. I read some of those report summaries. The circumstances were outlandish, changes of mission difficulties after they were already away. Half the time the teams were not set up to handle the mission effectively, the point is no one died on any mission he was on and the only time he was ever defeated was against Sasuke and the kid fought almost constantly to get there when Sasuke was fresh. He is ready."

"Well I agree, that's why I approved it several hours ago. Four ANBU are setting up the test parameters as we speak." Kushina gave a relieved sigh.

"Good cause I already told him he was approved and if you had said no I would have sent him to you." Tsunade scoffed at that and put the folder back in the drawer.

"So you didn't answer my question. What kind of forum are you using for the test?' Tsunade looked at the desk not answering for a moment.

"Single mission qualification." She said at last.

"That new? I don't remember that." Tsunade nodded.

"Yeah it was started about eight years ago. We will set up a difficult mission that he must complete. There is no good performance anymore; it is a pass/fail test. Kushina… are you sure about this? Our qualifications are much more rigid than when you were an active member and beyond comparison to the Whirlpool country's tests that you had to pass."

Kushina looked at her hands and thought it through. "Yes. He had improved a great deal, but I don't think even he knows how much. He needs this and so does the village. He was a gennin for a long time and all he did was train. He needs to do something on his own to prove it to himself. No teams, no sensei or Hokage to back him up. It must be done."

"Your probably right." The Hokage smiled. "In three days time, Uzimaki Naruto will face one of the greatest challenges of his life. Let's hope he is up to the task. Now let's have some sake'!" She said holding up a rather large bottle and two cups. Kushina grinned.

-

--

-

"Sasuke. You disappoint me. You should have been up to the task of capturing the eight-tails. Explain your failure." Madara said rather cheerfully from behind that hypnotic mask. Sasuke who was lounging in a chair looked up at the fellow Uchiha and quirked an eye-brow.

"Explain? I do not have to explain anything to you. I am not your subordinate. I am your partner. The task was within our power, but unforeseen complications interrupted the capture allowing her to escape." The eye behind the mask narrowed.

"Then enlighten me please on the circumstances of this…complication." The founder of the organization asked, looking closely at the expressionless, cold, young Uchiha. The young man looked across the table and locked eyes before responding.

"When Itachi implanted me with his techniques and powers he also implanted a fail-safe. It seems at the moment I can not use them on anyone but you without suffering from extreme mental pain and fatigue. It will take some time, but I will be able to overcome it." Madara frowned in aggravation behind his mask.

"This on top of Pain taking his little vacation sets back our time table a great deal."

"Pain?" Sasuke asked.

"Our strongest member. He is the key to our whole operation. Without him our plans will fail." Sasuke frowned at the mention of this unknown powerhouse of a ninja.

"Just how strong is he?" Madara chuckled from the shadows.

"Let's just say far more for you to handle at the moment. Even if I were to face him the outcome would be in question. You are very strong Sasuke, but you can go a great deal further and will need to of you wish to reach reach Pain's height." Sasuke shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"I will remain in seclusion and attempt to overcome the trouble of my brother's plans. I will not be able to handle the eight-tails again unless I have my full power available to me." Madara nodded.

"Good. In the mean time we can do nothing but wait again. I will begin to gather my army for the assault on the fire country and the village hidden in the leaves." Sasuke said nothing, but stood up and in a blur of shadows and light faded away. Madara sat along for awhile thinking things over.

"Sasuke, my dear Sasuke. Are you trying to play both sides of the field?" A sinister laugh echoed in the cavern like room. "It does not matter my young tool. The nine-tails and the final Sharingan will be mine again, regardless of your actions." The laugh echoed again, a spine-chilling sound.

-

--

-

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Naruto screamed backing into a corner. "You're still drunk from yesterday! No way in hell am I wearing that!" Kushina looked startled at her son. Tears welled up in those hurt green eyes and she dropped her shoulders.

"But my Naruto-kun. I thought you would look so cute in it. Couldn't you please just try it on? Please? For me?" those eyes batters letting a few fake tears drop. Inside she was laughing wildly at her wickedness. 'Oh this will be a day to remember!' she thought with a certain maliciousness.

"Oh come on! Why? WHY?!" he screamed trying to find some way to inch further into the corner as the hideous outfit came closer and closer to him. "I will be the laughing stock of the village if I am seen in that thing!" The outfit in question was indeed quite an eye-sore. It was pale blue with a thick white stripe going up the long sleeves. In the center was a picture of a fluffy teddy bear with a glittered rainbow arch over its head. On the back was the same teddy-bear holding a large heart with the words 'worlds best son' stamped in bold white letters. It was a crime against humanity and Kushina was trying her best to convince Naruto to put the thing on.

"Ok you don't have to wear it! I will get something else for you, but at least try it on for me?" She begged glancing at the clock. 'I better hurry they will be here soon, he will need to have it on.' She redoubled her efforts to win him over with her eyes and pout. She could see the boy struggling between the loathsome outfit and making his mother happy. 'hehehe. You are so caught Naruto.'

Finally the boy relented with drooped shoulders with a certain anxious shiver. "Ok just this once, then we burn it!' He declared.

"No don't burn it I can exchange it for something else!" Naruto gave her an evil glare and took off his jacket to put the shirt on.

"You owe me a big one. I want some ramen tonight!"

"Done! And thank you sweetheart, you make me so happy." She smiled wiping away some more fake tears. The boy finally got the shirt on and it was all she could do not to fall on the floor laughing. She could feel her shoulders quivering.

"Oh you look wonderful!" She said. "Go look in the mirror." Naruto scowled and grudgingly made his way to the mirror. When he saw himself he flinched at the site. He looked like a three year old in the pathetic getup.

"Namikaze-same we arrived like you reque-" The voice broke off in mid sentence. Naruto spun around to see who was in the room and a flash blinded him for a moment. When his eyes cleared he saw his mother grinning with a camera in her hand. 'Oh no' he thought. Even worse, behind his mother stood several of his friends looking for all the world like he had grown branches out his ears and started to fart flowers.

Hinata, Sakura, Kiba, Nejii, Shikamaru, Shino and even the odd-ball Lee looked stunned. Naruto wanted to die right on the spot. It started as a chuckle. Kiba started it. From his chuckle he broke out into a roaring laugh, soon Shikamaru followed and with him Nejii, Shino and Lee all found themselves having to hold onto each other to keep from collapsing in mirth. Sakura just stood there with her mouth hanging open with an incredulous look. Hinata had her hand over her mouth, but Naruto could see her shoulder shaking.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto said accusingly. That broke her and soon she and Sakura were laughing with everyone else. He looked over at his mother who looked to be in convulsions.

"you-you-you look so" She was trying to talk between gasps of breaths. "So cute my little pookie! AHAHAHAHA!" With furious embarrassment Naruto tore off the shirt and fled like the best of them into his room, the laugher of generations following him as he slammed the door.

The group finally got themselves together after several minutes. "Oh Namikaze-sama! That was the best ever!" Sakura said. "Could we get copies of the pictures?" everyone nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Oh of course! I plan to pass them out to everyone when Naruto passes his Jounin qualification." Kushina told the group.

"Jounin? Naruto is trying for Jounin?" Lee asked with a certain sorrowful gleam in his eye.

"Yes. Everyone thinks he is ready. The training he has been doing for the past three weeks has really shaved off any rough edges he used to have. He is a very skilled leaf nin now. If he keeps it up he will indeed be one of the strongest in the village."

"Excuse me Kushina-sama, but I must go see to Naruto-kun." Hinata said and headed to her-boyfriend's room, every ones eyes followed her then the others thanked Kushina for the joke and went their separate ways to pass the word around that the village prankster got pranked.

Hinata stepped into the room to see a glowering Naruto propped on his bed Outside some men were running some pipes and inside were was the beginnings of a rock fountain that would cascade the water down in several small waterfalls. "Naruto-kun?" She said hesitantly. "Please don't be mad at us, it was just a joke." She took some steps forward and sat on the bed next to him. Naruto looked grumpy for a second then relented with a small smile and reached out for her. She smiled in return and happily crawled into his embrace. Resting against his chest she listened to the soothing beat of his heart.

"I know Hinata-chan. It is actually funny and if it were anyone else I would still be laughing. I just never expected my mom to be that evil." He gave a chuckle. Hinata purred at the vibrations the laugh gave off.

"She seems to be a lot like you." She said

"Or I'm like her. I'm betting if we put our heads together we could come up with some great things to do." Hinata giggled. He loved when she did that.

"We haven't been alone like this for awhile. I'm sorry I haven't spent more time with you, but with me suddenly having my mom I just really wanted to be close to her." Hinata shushed him with a finger to his looks and looked up at him with caring eyes.

"You don't need to explain. I understand perfectly. Spend all the time you want with her. You deserve it." Naruto smiled and pulled her up to his face for a passionate kiss, she eagerly accepted.

Kushina was throwing together some pudding and whistling a song as she kept an eye on her son's door. The two love birds had been in there for awhile and she was afraid to walk in on the middle of them doing something they shouldn't be doing. Still kids will be kids and Hyuuga Hiashi would grind her to a pulp if Naruto took away his daughters virtue. Throwing the bowl into the fridge to set and congeal, she walked over to the door to peek in quietly before barging in. Her eyes narrowed at the scene she saw. Naruto had Hinata on the bed and was kissing her in a far too adult like manner, her leg was curled around his and their bodies were pressed against each other. Thankfully all their cloths were on, but that might not remain the case unless she intervened. Closing the door she gave several small knocks. She could hear some scuffling as they moved quickly to some chairs.

"Come in." Naruto said. Kushina opened the door and gave the couple a sweet smile.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said. Hinata and Naruto blushed furiously. "I will take that as a yes. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Naruto, you have to continue your training from yesterday, the exam is only two more days away."

"Oh I'm done with that." He said nonchalantly.

"What?!" She exclaimed in udder amazement. "That's impossible! Even if you trained with three thousand clones you couldn't have completed it that quickly!" She refused to believe it.

"Okaa-san, all my training for the past three years has focused mostly around chakra control and manipulation. Between the rasengan, water-walking, the Rasen-Shurkin, and the twice-cored rasengan, the air walk wasn't all the difficult to get the hang of it. I probably use too much chakra each leap, but that will come with time and practice."

Kushina just shook her head in amazement. "Show me. I can't believe it till I see this." Naruto stood up and with confidence in every step he started to place his foot down and lifted an inch off the floor, then with the next step he propelled himself with a little jump and then off the air he jumped a third time and landed next to his mother.

"See? I was able to do about twelve steps in the air when I was outside, I got pretty high up. Once I condensed my clones I went out last night while you were … sleeping." She glared and she coughed a little reddening. She did have far too much to drink with Tsunade last night. "So I went out and practiced my timing for a few hours. I have it down pat okaa-san."

"Amazing simply amazing. Well then I guess the only thing left for you to do till the exam is to practice throwing your new Rasengan. So let's head out to the training ground. While we are there you can also show me this move of yours that Naruto bragged about endlessly Hinata." The little girl blushed and smiled sweetly at Naruto for bragging about her.

"Hai!" She said.

So the trio headed over to Naruto's training ground. Hinata gave Naruto a little peck on the lips and headed over to her usual spot to work on something else she had devised and was in the early stages of development. Kushina took Naruto aside.

"Ok show me this new Rasengan you spoke of." Naruto nodded and held out his hand. In a second the rasengan formed. It didn't look different at all she thought, then four seconds later something changed. The inn turned a deep and dark blue and the sound started to change, then with a visible rush the twice-cored rasengan came into completion. Where the old rasengan was a bluefish sphere with a white glow on the edges this was reversed. The entire sphere was a bright white. Thousands of little blue flecks seemed to be thrown off and the sphere was obviously rotating at a much faster rate. The sound it made was like a high pitched whine of a jet engine. **(A/N. There are no jets or flying machines in the Naruto universe, but I couldn't think of anything else that made the sound like I wanted to describe.)**

"Now that is impressive Naruto. Give it a throw. Let's see how far it goes. Don't go for a target. Just throw it as high and long as you can so we can get an idea." She instructed. Naruto nodded and took a step back. Gathering his strength he hurled the ball with all his might. It arched up and suddenly dissipated about twenty feet from the two.

"Hmm that's not too bad." Kushina remarked, but Naruto shook his head in disagreement.

"No. I need to be able to throw it at-least 100 feet."

"100 feet? Whatever for?"

"I made this so I could complete the Futon-Rasen-Shurkin. That jutsu does so much damage that anything within 100 feet up or down will die, pure and simple. It just eradicates everything." Kushina looked a little doubtful.

"Can you show me with clones?" She asked. Naruto thought about this.

"In battle I can't use a clone because the force the jutsu generates would dispel the clone in seconds, but I guess in practice if I form it really fast and hit the ground, you can get an idea of what it does." He created two clones and the pair went off a distance. A rather far distance in fact, about two hundred feet to be sure. She watched closely as the clones put their hands together. After several seconds the jutsu formed. She just had an eye boggling view for a second of the monstrous looking creation before the clone slammed it into the ground. The next thing she new she was struggling to stay on her feet as a huge blast of wind and an explosion almost bowled her over. When the dust finally settled she surveyed the damage. He had to drop to her knees at the carnage it created.

"Oh my god Naruto." She whispered. "I have never seen anything like that jutsu. In all my years and battles that is the most monstrously powerful technique a single shinobi can do that I've ever encountered. Your right, you can only throw that thing a large distance for safety."  
Naruto nodded but felt a certain pride that his mother thought his creation was so strong. "But how? Just from seeing how hard I can throw it, id have to be stronger than Gai to make it go at least eighty feet."  
Kushina sat down and folded her legs under her and thought at moment. Going through he own thoughts and techniques and some of Minato's theories she could remember, then something her late husband once told her kicked in and she knew how Naruto could do this. She looked up to him. "Make it a bullet.

"A bullet?" he asked. "What is that?"

"Some countries are using the same power that they use in fireworks to hurl projectiles through the air at high speeds. They are making some pretty deadly weapons out of them. You of course can't use that power, but you can mimic the effects to a degree. The force of the explosion hurls the metal pellet they use, so all you need to do is create a large burst of force in your hand to propel the sphere at your enemy, it will move faster and go farther making it harder to dodge as well."

"Cool! I think that might be it! So just create wind and push it out."

"No not wind. Chakra, pure chakra you already have the basis down with your air walking, If you can lift and hold yourself up with your chakra for even a second you should be able to get that rather light sphere to go at least two hundred feet in a couple seconds. Just focus a good amount of chakra in your hand after making the Rasengan and let it go."

Naruto nodded, his enthusiasm renewed. Taking a deep breath he created the twice-cored rasengan. He held is arm outstretched and several seconds later there was a flash if blue light and suddenly the ball was hurtled wildly to the side. It almost hit Kushina and the force of the technique passing swept her through the air and tumbling along the ground. She could hear a small detonation in the distance, but Naruto was suddenly beside her his hands holding her as he called out worriedly. "Okaa-san! Okaa-san are you alright? I'm so sorry it just went out of control!" Pushing the over protective boy off of her she stood up with a glare.

"I'm all right Naruto but you need to control that far better. You're going for jounin and you can't let things like that happen even during training. Think it through before you try new things!" She was disheveled and slightly battered, which she never liked looking. Naruto glowered and folded his arms in defiance. She sighed and took the teen by his shoulders.

"Look Naruto I am sorry for snapping at you, but it's the truth. You aren't a kid anymore; you are a young man and a warrior with lives in your hands. You have the responsibility of those on your missions and to the people of the village. Your training reflects your performance everywhere. Just blasting that thing just to see how far it went without thinking of aim or control showed a lack of discipline and you can't afford that as a Jounin. You will have a team under your command sooner or later and if you act that rashly even with small things it could mean deaths. Now get over your petulance and do it right from now on. This is my first and only warning. No more childish displays, from missions to the petulant pout your giving me right now."

"But-!"

"No butts Naruto. You said you wanted me to be your mother in reality rather than just name, so do as I say and don't argue. The consequences of that decision are that you will listen to what I say and obey. Understood young man?" Naruto gawked at the women. He had never had anyone talk to him like that before. He had always been his own person; even the Hokages' gave him some leeway with his words. He thought back to when he saw Hiashi talking to Hinata and reprimanding her. He realized that his mother was worried for him and giving him good advice. He lost the aggressive mood and nodded.

"I understand Okaa-san. I am sorry, it won't happen again." She looked at him seriously for a moment then smiled and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

"Now let's take a look and see what that little display did shall we?" He looked around and saw some upturned earth a little over a hundred feet away. They walked over and prodded it with their feet to see the earth crumble away showing a hole underneath. The Rasen-bullet had dug into the ground a bit before detonating creating a rather impressive crater several feet in radius.

"Well now." Kushina said. "I think that worked very well." Naruto nodded eagerly. He stood looking at her expectantly. "Well?" She said as if waiting for something.

"Oh right!" He blinked and ran off and soon there was a horde of clones all lined up facing the tree line and firing off their Rasen-bullet, working on aim and control. Kushina watched with a certain amount of pride.

"If you could see him now my love, you would be so proud. He is going to surpass you husband. He will be the greatest Hokage." He smiled and shook her head and looked over at Hinata who was just standing still in one spot. One arm extended in front of her and the other behind. Kushina observed for several minutes, but Hinata had not moved a muscle. She stared to walk over to the girl and came up beside her.

"Hinata? Are you alright?" The girl didn't answer or even blink. "Hinata?" She snapped her fingers in front of her face. There seemed to be no recognition, but Kushina suddenly felt queer and light headed. She staggered away and sat down to gather her senses. 'What in the world was that?' She thought.

"Kushina-sama?" Hinata came out of her focus and knelt down next to the jounin. "Are you ok? You didn't get close to me did you?" She asked.

"As a matter of fact I did. You weren't moving or even blinking. I was worried, but what the hell did you do to me?"

"Oh I am so sorry! I didn't expect anyone to come by, if you see me like that you should stay away."

"Thanks for the warning." Kushina said sarcastically. "Now tell me why my Chakra is going crazy?" Hinata activated her bloodline and looked the woman over closely.

"Hold still this won't hurt." Quickly the Hyuuga taped several points on Kushina's body. And the red-head felt better immediately.

"That's pretty irksome. Now do you care to tell me what exactly you did? I didn't see you move at all."

"I-Im sorry Kushina-sama, but I am forbidden to speak of even its name. It is a hidden jutsu of my clan and we can't risk its secrets being revealed." She looked down ashamed to deny the jounin anything. Kushina huffed.

"I have to say Hinata that your clans' stiff principles always got on my nerves. Don't let those stuffy old traditions infect you too much. Minato always needed a strong drink after dealing with your former Clan Head. Stubborn bastards the whole lot of them." Hinata giggled at this.

"Hai Namikaze-same. I will do my best." The pair of them looked over to the veritable army that was decimating the tree-line. "Did Naruto-kun finally figure it out?" She asked

"Yes, we found the perfect trick. He is using a strong chakra burst to hurl the sphere at high speeds. It was simple for him to get the hang of it, he is working on aim and control right now. With that amazing training Kakashi came up with I wouldn't be surprised if he is a crack shot in a couple of hours."

"That is good. My cousin still doesn't talk about his jounin exam too much. It was very hard on him. I worry for Naruto-kun."

"Don't worry. He will be fine, he is well into jounin level at the moment. He just needs missions to sharpen his judgment and skills. The test itself will be a huge boon to him. He just needs to get over his impulsiveness." Hinata looked a little offended by this.

"But that is what makes him so special and gives him strength?" She protested. Kushina looked at the smaller woman curiously.

"How so?" The red-head asked.

"He is firm in his beliefs and convictions. It isn't impulsiveness that you see, it's a mind set. People think his words and actions are just spur of the moment, but I've learned that they aren't. He sizes things up in seconds and knows what to do and say." The young kunoichi looked at the love of her life fondly before continuing. "He is a great person and will be a greater man. Have faith in him. There are people and whole countries who owe and revere Naruto. You may not know this, but the wave country owes their wealth and economy to him. The snow country and its ruler, their freedom. The sun country's and sand country's leaders owes him their lives. And this village owes him their very existence. His words and actions have never steered anyone wrong. Whoever listens to him and follows his judgment always ends up better in the end. There are not words to describe how special Naruto-kun is. He has the power to change the world. I know he does."

Kushina listened to Hinata give her speech about her son, she was right, Kushina didn't know all of that. She kept tabs on Naruto his whole life, except where he vanished with Jiriya, but she didn't know the exact details of all his accomplishments. If just half of what Hinata said was true, then already the boy had more influence with countries and allies than Saratobi and Minato did together through-out their whole lives. Kushina watched Naruto as he trained and wondered. 'Just what is your destiny Naruto?'

Kushina left the girl alone to continue her training and went over to give Naruto some moving targets via some water globes she sent flying through the air and they spent the remaining hours of the training like that.

After Naruto got a good grasp of the Rasen-bullet he dispelled the clones and was not confident of his aim after a few tests with his combined training. He could hit a fast and awkward moving target about half the time. Kushina had made several water clones so Naruto could try to hit a fast and skilled target. A 50 hit rate was very good indeed and with the Futon-Rasen-Shurkin a direct hit was far from needed. The boy was ready. Hinata and Kushina were standing far back. Both had a worried look on their face and their fingers were crossed. Testing something like this with the Futon-Rasen-Shurkin was experimental and dangerous. Naruto could get seriously hurt with this.

Naruto took a deep breath and prayed for no complications. He made a shadow clone and looked over at it. "You ready?" He asked himself.

"As ready as we will ever be." The real Naruto nodded.

"Then lets do this." He held out his hand and the clone held his own hands over his. Pooling their various chakra manipulations together simultaneously the Full devastating technique finally came into creation. Naruto's body thrummed with the power and vibrations the Jutsu gave off. Licking his lips nervously he held out his hand Palm out directing the sphere to what remained of the Far tree line. Time seemed to slow down between the heartbeats as he gathered more chakra quickly to his hand, only letting enough out to power the jutsu. The heartbeats stopped and in the pause he released the chakra in one mountainous burst. It was far stronger than he needed, but he wanted to be safe.

"The sphere exuding those lethal blades of Wind chakra shot off into the distance, the force of the released pushed Naruto back a couple of feet and he dropped to his knees to watch. In three seconds and four hundred feet away the Jutsu hit the ground and detonated. The release sent waves of wind buffeting the would be-jounin, be he was far enough away to admire the results without having been blown away and off target. When it was over the Jutsu had gone off correctly, without a hitch. He turned to his mother and Hinata.

"Futon-Rasen-Shurkin complete." Darkness closed in on him and he passed out.

-

--

-

The two figures in the trees were blown away. Tumbling through the air and cut from both the wind of the jutsu and shards of trees and rocks that were hurled around. They finally recovered both panting.

"Oh my god." Na'omi panted, wide eyed with fear. "What was that?" She asked the figure next to her that was covered head to toe in black, a cat faced ANBU mask on.

"I…don't know. Only my ultimate technique comes close to that much destructive power and still falls short. Naruto has gotten much stronger it seems." The unknown figure said.

"So that's the nine-tails. A monstrous jutsu for a monster. I guess we all have our little secrets which rely on the power of our bijuu." Na'omi smirked and then looked far into the distance at the young man who was passed out. "Seems like he exhausted himself with that." The masked figure didn't answer back. She decided to ask him the same questions she did twice already.

"Are you sure this Uzimaki Naruto will welcome me with open arms? My bijuu is already crawling with distaste for being even this close to the Jinkuurki container, it could cause a problem."

"You are more like him that you know. All of your kind have suffered similar fates in your villages. He will sympathize with you and fast become your friend. In this fight he is the one you want by your side most of all. He won't run or try to save himself. He will do all he can to help you, even die if needed."

"If you say so, but that still doesn't cover what to do about our bijuu's if either of our chakra leaks out or is exposed the other will break our wills and you will have two half formed monsters fighting in the midst of your cozy village." The Jinkuurki stated. That masked man turned to face her and reached inside its robes and pulled out a necklace.

"This necklace contains a seal that will repress your bijuu's chakra completely. It is sister to a necklace that Naruto has on. They won't work when apart, but if you close to one another they grow stronger." He laid the jewelry into her hand. "Naruto is special. Trust in him Shu'xoi Na'omi. Together you can withstand the coming storm." He said and then vanished in a jutsu.

The eight-tails container watched the two figures carrying this Uzimaki character away and then looked at the crater. "It will be hard to work together when we each are so suited to working alone. I hope you are right stranger, because I plan to live another hundred years." She slipped the necklace on and vanished in her own jutsu back to her hotel room.

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**A/N – **

-The new outfit will be revealed at the time of the Jounin exam, which till start almost immediately in the next chapter. We will finally get to see how far Naruto has come and how much he as changed over the weeks.

-The next chapter will be almost all Naruto and I'm not sure of the length yet. As it stands now it is not even half written and already 6'000 words. So expect the next one to be even longer.

-Those pictures are going to haunt Naruto for the rest of his life.


	9. Chapter 9 Rise, The Dreaming Down

**A/N-  
-get ready for a VERY long chapter  
-Still looking for someone willing to Beta my chapters. Someone with some knowledge of Japanese to help me with Jutu names is a plus.**

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**Chapter 9**

**Rise, the Dreaming Down**

Naruto stared at his plate of tasteless, stringy, oozing, inedible vegetables that his mother had cooked for his lunch. It wasn't only the food that made him lose his appetite it was that in one hour he would begin the Jounin exam. To help him out yesterday his mother requested that Gai, Kakashi and one of her own friends come to spar with Naruto. He held his own against Gai and Kakashi, although he did lose, and was able to press his mother's friend into giving up, which bolstered his confidence a great deal. Today was a different day however and he was shaking with anticipation, he couldn't eat.

"Naruto." His mother spoke and he looked up at her. "It's ok to be nervous and scared. It is going to be long and hard." He just blinked. "Naruto?"

"I heard you, I'm just trying to figure out why you think I'm nervous and scared. I'm looking forward to it! I'm going to mow through those tests just you watch! I will be done in a couple hours!" He grinned and put his arms behind his head. Kushina had to grind her teeth from leaping over to throttle the cocky boy.

"If you can finish the exam in a couple hours then it should only take a couple of minutes to eat your food. I cooked it myself, now dig in." She snapped. Naruto looked down at the plate with a certain amount of apprehension. A bead of sweat dropped down his head. He looked up to see his mother cross the table eyes narrowed and locked on his. She stared. He looked down at the plate again, his hand holding the silver-ware quivered. He looked up to his mother again. Her lips pursed and she leaned slightly forward. Eyes back to the plate he chokingly stabbed some strange white thing that reeked of good health. He was sweating profusely now his eyes darting between the strange food and his mother. Strange food-mother, Strange-food-a snarling mother. Strange-food-a mother crawling over the kitchen table towards his eyes blazing. That broke him and he quickly popped the food in his mouth and forced the foul concoction down his throat. His mother smiled immediately and went back to her seat.

"Good boy."

"I'm not a dog."

"Of course your not." Naruto ground his teeth and huffed. He slide his plate forward and stood ignoring the evil glint in her eyes, he gave her, her fun already.

"I have to get ready, they said something about an oath taking before the written test." He was lying Kushina knew, he was going to stop off and get some Ramen from that accursed stand he sneaks off to. 'Oh well' She thought. 'I guess some food in his belly is better than none.'

"Well if you're going to get ready then I have something for you. She walked over to a closet and pulled out a large pack wrapped in a bow. Naruto looked at it curiously. "I got this for you the other day. I made some changes to it. I-I really hope you like it."

Naruto was intrigued now; this was a nervous side of his mother he hadn't seen yet. He took the package and sat down and tore the paper off. He always loved presents since he never had any growing up. Each one seemed doubly special to him. With the paper off he pulled open the box. And pushed aside the thin wrapping paper and stared. Slowly he pulled out the coat and stood up looking it over. Under the coat were some new pants with shin guards and some boots. The new outfit was. Awesome.

"Mom…" A tear fell down on cheek as she smiled at his mother. "This is, the second best present I've ever gotten." Kushina shifted nervously and gave a tremulous smile.

"What was the first?"

"You." Kushina gasped, before she knew what happened she had darted across the room and had Naruto in a crushing embrace.

"M-Mom!" He gasped out. "B-b-b-reath! Help!" Kushina reluctantly let go of her son and gave him a soft lingering kiss on the cheek.

"I love you Naruto. Those words were the best present you could ever give me as well." She smiled at him eyes shinning.

"I love you to, and thanks again for the outfit, it looks cool."

"Your welcome." She ruffled his hair. "Now go get ready, and have the women drooling over you." Naruto grinned and darted up to his room with the new ensemble. "And Naruto!"

"Yeah?" He called down from his room.

"If you let any of those drooling girls touch you, there will be hell to pay." There was no reply from the room and she chuckled. Sighing she headed up to her room as well to get into her own clothes, he didn't know it but she had been asked to be part of his test and she had agreed.

Naruto checked himself out in the mirror and was ecstatic over his new look. His old orange and black zip-up was gone. He now had on a heavy white tee-shirt with a golden symbol of the leaf in the front. Actually he had five one for each day. Over that was a black long sleeve overcoat that went halfway down his thighs. At the bottom of the coat was a sea of golden flames trying to reach up like grasping hands. The color of the coat was wide and flipped up around his neck there were think metal links imbedded in the collar that extended around to his shoulder-blades and upper spine. This gave him a little protection against a neck strike or a knife from behind without making the coat too heavy. On the back threaded in gold was a picture of a dawning sun overlooking a small silver fox. On the cuffs were some more dancing gold flames. His Forehead protector was now black, black cloth and black metal, the leaf symbol was also edged in gold. The pattern of black continued to his pants and boots. The shinobi boots had the usual soft sole and toe to keep down noise and they were laced high to his half. A small silver emblem of the fox was on each side. And the shin guards followed a similar pattern that his forehead protector and gloves had, black with gold etching. He had is hair in the usual spiky look. He looked like the Yodaime only 10 times cooler in his opinion. Grinning at the new look he pulled on his father's old gloves and gathered up his tools and pouches strapping them on and tucking some kunai in the new hidden sleeves that the new outfit had.

"Wow Hinata and Sakura are gonna love this!" He said out-load. He only had twenty minutes to get to the test facility. He ran down stairs to show his mother, only to find she was no longer in the house. She left a note however apologizing that she would be unable to speak or see him again till the test was complete as she could not aid him in any way. He frowned a bit. He was hoping she would be able to at least see him off, but figured that things couldn't always go his way. Taking a deep breath and headed out of his home towards the Academy.

Naruto was walking through the streets and was doing his best to ignore the gasps of surprise from many of the populous. He could hear people whispered that the Yodaime had returned from the grave. Other noticed Naruto and the populous was fast realizing that Naruto looked too much like the 4th to be ignored. The heir had shown himself at-last and the words raced ahead of him though the streets. He grinned at the acknowledgment.

Sakura and Ino were walking out of the Hokage tower going over some medical reports from the hospital when they noticed the people running all over the excited chatter. They looked at each other and shrugged moving over to some of the citizens.

"Excuse me." Sakura asked. One of the men stopped for her. "What is all the excitement about?"

The man's chatter washed over them in gabbled excitement. "It's the 4th! His heir has come to leave us to salvation! He looks like dawn coming over a mountain! He's amazing!" The man ran off to spread the word some more, people seemed to be talking and shouting all over. It would be close to a riot soon. Sakura and Ino looked at each and glared.

"Naruto!" They said in unison and not in a kindly way. They leapt off to seek him out. They saw many chunnin guards trying to calm the populous and explain the situation of who the 4th son is before things got out of control and too many tall tales spread. It didn't take long for the pair to find the boy at his favorite Ramen stand. Across the street about twenty villagers had gathered muttering to each other, looking over in wonder and hope. 'Jeeze' Sakura thought. 'You would think the village is dying or something' Sakura thought at the reactions of the people. Things were very very good so why all this doom and gloom and hope thoughts the people were having.

Naruto had just finished his meal and thanked the old man, who gave it to him for free. He got up and turned to leave when he saw Sakura and Ino jumping down. They both opened their mouths to say something but no words came out as they saw his new outfit and their jaws went slack. 'Is this the same Naruto?' Ino thought? 'Man he is hot!' Sakura was having similar thoughts only going much farther causing her to blush a little.

"Hey Sakura, Ino! How do you like my new outfit? Cool huh!" The girls nodded numbly. "Well I have to go the exam starts soon! I will talk to you afterwards! Bye!" and he leapt to the roofs and took off at high speed.

"He's mine." Ino spoke up first.

"Like hell you hate him! I'm his team-mate he is mine!"

"You like Sasuke!"

"He isn't here and so do you!"

"Actually." A hard and angry voice broke into their squabbling. They looked over to see a furious Hinata and gulped. "He is mine and will forever be mine, if either of you two tarts even tries to go beyond friendship, your career as medics will fast come to a halt." Hinata started to walk away then turned around and gave the two a hurt look. "You were both supposed to be my friends." And she body flickered off.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other in shame.

"Wow we really screwed up there." Ino said sheepishly. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah…"

-

Naruto arrived at the academy. Some of the students were pointing out his outfit as he walked through the halls, it really gave him a lot of confidence and a bounce to his step. He arrived at the academy door to see Tsunade waiting for him.

"Good you're a few minutes early" she said.

"Hokage-sama." He said respectfully with a bow. Tsunade raised her brow at what was probably one of the few formal greetings he had ever given her.

"Naruto. I have to explain some things to you. The exam is in two parts. The first part is the written test and the second part is the practical. The written test will be two hours long and will cover an extensive about of shinobi knowledge that every jounin needs to know as they often partake in solo missions. This isn't like the chunnin exam. You must answer these and pass with a 90 or better. You can not cheat or you will be disqualified. It does not mean don't get caught cheating, it means flat out, Don't Cheat." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"The practical exam begins if you pass the written test. We will have the grades within fifteen minutes for you so that gives you enough time to take a break and get something to drink or a snack. If you pass then you will be contacted by a member of ANBU to come to my office immediately. The purpose of this test is to run a simulation of a real S class mission. From the point of orders to appear to receiving the mission, carrying it out successfully and coming home. This is a pass fail, if you do not succeed in the mission you will be forbidden from taking another exam for one year. Understood?" Naruto nodded confidently.

"Naruto I want you to understand something. This will be a real S-class mission you will be going on. You really do have a chance to die. Although we set up the mission those whom you will be up against will not go kind on you. Some of them WILL try to kill you. People you might have known or see in the halls will try to KILL you. Do you fully grasp how serious the situation is?" Naruto gulped. He hadn't really planned on this, but there is no going back now.

"I understand baa-chan. But one question. That means I must try to kill them to, doesn't that make it harder of the village if they lose more than one shinobi just for a test?" He asked.

"It might seem that way, but no. There has never been a tester death in eight years of this exam. There have however been six petitioner deaths. Don't take this lightly Naruto please." Naruto put a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me baa-chan. I won't let you down." He gave his trademark grin then walked into the room standing proud.

"Oh Naruto one last thing." He turned before closing the door. "Love the outfit." She winked at him causing him to blush and shut the door.

He looked around the room. It was start white. White every where. Floor walls, ceiling, desk, the instructors desk, his cloths, his hair, his mask. It was very disturbing. He walked further into the room towards the single desk with a thick packet and pencil. He looked and bowed to the ANBU masked instructor. Naruto could tell it was a woman, using his knowledge taught by Jiriya, he could tell she wore a 34C cup had a five foot reach with a swing before taking a second step, had enough ability to do several flips and block high with both her arms and legs due to the loose nature of her clothing to allow her more flexible movement. Her longer slender neck would allow her to twist her neck more and probably her torso giving her a faster range to inspect a surrounding. He looked for a hint of hair, but didn't see any. However from his memorization of the various kunoichi in the village he knew it could only be one person that he knew. He came up from the bow

"Anko-sama" I am ready.

"How the HELL did you know who I was?!" She ripped off the mask.

"Your breasts are some of the finest in the village. It is hard not to know them on sight!"

"Why you little!" She took out a kunai but stopped in mid throw and looked down at her chest. "Do you really think they are that nice?" She suddenly asked. Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Oh yes they are close to perfect!" She beamed and put the mask back on. "Oh you will do nicely." She sat back down. "Ok from this moment on NO speaking. No questions not even a bathroom break. You have two hours to complete the packet in front of you. That leaves an average of 2 minutes per question. This isn't multiple choice, you will have to write out each answer. You can begin…now!" She started the timer and sat down looking intently at the blond.

Naruto calmly picking up one of his five pencils and opened the packet to his first question and blinked at the difficulty. **'List three possible C class Jutsu that would be effective against a Doton Earth wall when a Suiton: Water dragon is coming in from above at 30/km+ per hour. List why that jutsu would be effective note blood-line or personal creative jutsu will not be accepted. Standard Jutsu that any average chunnin would know is the only option.'** How the hell was he supposed to know this? The question depends on knowledge of Jutsu that…wait, Jutsu that he doesn't know. But he had seen something similar done by Kakashi and understood the point of the questions. He had worked in enough teams to see many different jutsu and if he knew them and could come up with a way to use them then he could also know how to counter them. He grinned and dove deep into the test.

-

Tsunade sipped her coffee while watching Naruto scribble furiously on his test. He was struggling and falling behind on the test. If he didn't find a way to catch up he would miss key questions at the end that would fail him. She sighed and looked up to her visitor.

"He figured out his instructor was Anko within five seconds of just looking at her." Tsunade said

Kushina looked startled. "Wasn't she in full ANBU dress?" Tsunade noted. "Then how?"

The Hokage smirked.

"Jiriya's influence. He knew Anko's measurements, most pertinent was her breast size." The older woman snarled in annoyance.

"Why that little shit! When we are done with this I will lay into him so hard he won't even touch a woman for a year!"

Tsunade started to laugh. "What did you expect? He wandered around for three years with Jiriya! That fool was as perverted as a guy could get! Something is bound to have rubbed off on the boy."

"I don't have to like it or let him ogle every kunoichi he knows."

"Ah leave off it Kushina. The boy was trained to size up his opponents possible skills by looking at women, It's the way he knows." Kushina huffed and promised to have a word with the boy anyways.

"How is he doing?" She asked. Tsunade looked worried.

"Not too good. He seems to know the answers but is writing too slow. If he doesn't catch up within the next hour he will fail."

Kushina chewed on her finger nails. "Crap we never took into account that his writing speed would hurt him. His hand writing is piss poor!" the fifth just shrugged.

"Call it an unexpected circumstance that he needs to overcome and improve instantly." She replied. She poured the worried mother a drink of Sake and they watched the boy through the crystal.

-

Naruto was sweating. The questions were tough and he was a slow writer. He knew his short-hand wasn't allowed since they wouldn't be able to read it. Its like he needed four hands to get it done. Wait. He stopped his writing and looked up. They said he couldn't cheat, this wouldn't be cheating. After all if he had a mutation that grew a third arm could that be considered cheating if he used it to write? Grinning he threw his hands together and wordlessly created a shadow clone to help him catch up on the test.

Anko leapt up from her seat. "Uzimaki! Your failure to follow the rules of the test has disqualified you. You have failed, dispel the clone and leave the room!"

Naruto ignored her and continued to work on the test at a furious rate. He was doing one page and the other clone picked up a pencil and was crunched beside him working on the other. Anko continued to screw at him that he had failed, but he didn't care or believe her. He would finish this test. When Anko dispelled the clone, he would create another one, when she dispelled that he made 2 and had one block any further attacks she made. All them didn't make one whisper and break the rule of speaking.

-

Tsunade stood up at the scene in the ball. "That fool boy! What is he thinking! He just disqualified himself!" She snarled into the air. Kushina leapt to her son's defense.

"What do you mean disqualified! What did he do wrong?" Tsunade looked at her like she was crazy.

"He used a jutsu to cheat! It is forbidden to use Jutsu during the test!"

"Bull shit! That isn't cheating Tsunade and you know it! He isn't gaining any outside knowledge from it. The clone is HIM with all his knowledge, and his skills consider it a damn writing tool. And you never said that no jutsu was allowed, just that he couldn't cheat!"

"It's the same damn thing Kushina!"

"It is not! The boy hasn't broken any of your rules. He is a slow writer so he used his skills and knowledge to improve on that weakness and overcame it! That's the point of a shinobi and look! He is still doing the test despite Anko telling him to stop. He is plowing through and catching up on the questions. Now get down there, shut the women up and let him use the fucking clone to finish the test." Kushina glared at her old friend. Finally Tsunade relented with a scowl and left the room.

-

Anko was still yelling at him to stop the test when the fifth walked into the room and stepped over to ANKO and spoke in her ear then walked out. Anko flopped into the chair and crossed her arms glaring at the innovative young man.

Naruto figured that since Tsunade hadn't hauled him out and Anko finally shut up that he just fine doing the test with a clone, so made three more to Anko's extreme frustration and plowed into the test. Fifteen minutes later he was done with the test and each clone was going over the answers repeatedly to make sure that they were correct or added any last minute adjustments. None of them uttered a peep and putting the book pamphlet, that had most of the pages torn out, back together he handed in the test.

Anko snatched the papers out of his hand and said through gritted teeth. "You are dismissed." Just to be a brat Naruto leered and her chest and gave her a wink and licked his lips. He didn't see the white clad figure seemingly detach itself from the wall and hold Anko back from planting a knife in the boy's back.

He spent his fifteen minutes going to the bathroom a giving a note to a banker. Naruto didn't tell anyone, but it was his last will and testament, should anything happen to him on the mission. Hinata soon came to him looking Nervous. "Naruto-kun." He gave a relieved smile, he thought he wouldn't get to see her today.

"Oh Hinata! Thank god you're here." He took her hand causing her to blush like always. She looked so pretty with that pale skin and rosy cheeks.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. The Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately though." She said.

Naruto almost leapt up for joy. He passed! He grabbed Hinata and pulled her into a small alcove from the prying eves of others.

"Naruto-kun!" She said quietly looking around afraid to get caught.

"Shhhh." He placed a finger on her lips. "I won't get to see you till tomorrow some time and I may get hurt. So before I go, I just wanted to give you something to remember me by." He placed the finger under her chin and tilted her head up. She closed her eyes and melted into him as their lips connected and he held her close. Slowly with lingered lips he broke the kiss and placed his forehead against hers, their noses touched and he looked into her eyes. When he spoke it was a soft but passionate whisper.

"Hinata. I haven't said this before, but I love you." Her eyes widened and her heart started to race, he could feel it hammer against his skin. "You were my first real friend, even if we never really spoke or bonded. You have always watched me through the years. I love you so much and I promise you no matter what I will be back...so we can watch each other for the remaining."

Hinata threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for an intense kiss, their tongues dances, their bodies molded and their breath sighed into the other. Reluctantly Naruto unwound the clinging Hinata from his neck to see her crying.

"Hinata? Whats wrong?" He asked wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"You said you loved me. It made me so happy, but now you're going on a dangerous mission and you might not return…" She started to cry again. Naruto pursed his lips and tilted her head up to his again.

"Hinata, I will return. I can't promise I won't by hurt or injured, but I will be back. You have always had faith in me, keep it please. What is my Nindo?" Hinata smiled brightly suddenly bolstered.

"You never go back on your word. That's your nindo, your ninja way." She remembered the first time she had really believed this at the chunnin exams all those years ago and said it herself to her cousin. Naruto nodded at her.

"Right. I have to go now. Please stay safe and have faith in me. I love you." He gave her another soft kiss and started to walk away. He was at the end of the corridor when Hinata screamed out his name.

"NARUTO!" He turned back with a loving smile and her breath caught, she had to say it thought. "I love you too! Come back to me!" He looked at her for a moment then took out a kunai and cut his hand holding it in a first in front of him. The blood dripped on the floor as he spoke.

"Nothing shall stop me." He gave a final squeeze of his fist and left her sight. She could only stare at the blood on the floor for several minutes, fear and worry gripping her heart.

-

Naruto arrived at the Hokage's office. He walked into without knocking giving a lazy wave and flopping down in a chair. "You wanted to see me Baa-chan?" He tilted his head to the side as a cup flew at him.

"Knock brat and don't call me that absurd name!" He grinned and winked at her earning him an irritated huff.

"So what's up?"

"I have a mission for you."

"Oh? That damn cat get loose again?"

"Shut up, this is an S-class not a D-class."

"Pfft! You never had to chase that damn cat!" Tsunade couldn't help but smile. The role-playing was fun.

"This is serious. Naruto." She closed her eyes regretting this, but He just might be the only one for this mission. She was taking a huge chance.

"Naruto I am placing a stop on the exam for now." She said at last.

"WHAT?! But didn't I pass the exam?"

"Yes and it is for that reason that I am stopping the exam." She explained

"I don't understand." He was furious.

"Calm down reason Naruto is that your answers and knowledge is so innovative that instead of a fake mission we are giving you a real Mission."

"Huh?" She sighed and explained further,

"There was a vital mission that I almost had to pass up. We did not have enough people or a single person with the skills needed to pull the mission off. Your answers were brought to my attention and they meant that you and only you can do this mission right now." She set her lips into a grim line. "This would normally be an A class mission for a team, but solo this is an S-class. I am sorry to do this Naruto, but Anko and Sakura are still injured so they can't go with you and all other free jounin are either with their gennin team or out on solo missions as well. Anyone else we send along would be a liability and reduce your chance of success knowing your pension for protecting people."

"Wow this will make things easier I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"Well a lot of my jutsu does some serious damage so I was hesitant about using it against friends." Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"Good then here is your mission. Come over here." She led him over to the table with the map of the fire country on it. Clearing off some papers she took a piece of red wax used as a marker and drew a circle on the glass. "There is a base of Sound shinobi infiltrators there. Remnants from Orochimaru's failing village." She turned away and drew out a folder and handed it to Naruto. He flipped it open and took a look. 'Wow' he thought 'this is very detailed.' Tsunade continued.

"The leader of the camp is a long missing nin presumed dead. This man was a chunnin who sold village secrets back during the war with the Earth Country that cost us several fatalities. Your object is to capture the entire camp of followers and escort them back to the city."

Naruto gawked at her. "WHAT?! How the hell can I do that as one man?!"

"Just kidding!" She grinned and tilted her head to the side as Naruto threw a book at her.

"Don't do that too me baa-chan! I just about dropped dead right here!"

"Hehehe." She snickered. "Actually you are to infiltrate the camp and capture one target. "Uhh baa-chan…wouldn't it be easier to kill him?" he looked at her questioningly.

"Yes, but he must stand trial and he holds valuable information we need. Naruto. This man gave away the positions of several gennin teams to the earth country. His actions resulted in my little brother's death and Kakashi's father as well. They were just kids Naruto on a C rank mission and because of him the Stone nins killed many of those kids."

Naruto felt any hesitation he might have had vanish. "Baa'chan…he is as good as captured."

Tsunade thanked him and handed him the folder.

"You will leave as soon as possible. You don't have much time. Shizune will meet you at the gate with supplies and medicine should you need it. Id like to give you some time to prepare yourself better, but time is critical that you make it before they leave the Fire country. One of our advanced scouts will meet you at the Shinar Bridge three days from now to report their further movements. Don't be late Naruto he will only wait for one hour at noon. Any questions?"

"If I have to kill others to get to him?"

"You do what you need to in order to complete the mission." Naruto nodded and climbed out the window.

"And Naruto. Be careful, this is far more dangerous than the exam we had planned for you." The boy nodded and jumped away. Tsunade flopped back into her chair and closed her eyes. 'Oh lord what have I done?' She thought. 'Please forgive me and come back safe Naruto."

Eight Hours later Naruto was camped in the woods a little ways off the trail looking up at the stars. He had never really been this alone before. He always had at least one other person with him. He felt calm, but anxious as well. It was doubly dangerous with Akatsuki out there, but as far as the village knew Shizune told him, he was taking his test in the opposite direction, only Tsunade he and Shizune knew where he was and where he was going.

He got up and went though his pack for the mission folder to study before he went to sleep. He found the origami rose that was given to him by the woman that day the other week. He smiled and made a note to give it to Hinata when he got back. He pulled out the folder and studied it.

"Hmmm. Fifteen enemies. Two specialize in Genjutsu, a pair of sisters that use sound to fuel their illusion..." he was muttering absently memorizing the date. "Huh, that's why Shizune gave me those pills. To negate their genjutsu." He flipped through to the next man. "Hmm. Unknown entity, jeeze look at the height and weight. He is gonna be a problem. Gonna take more than one rasengan to take that guy down."

He flipped to the page for his target. "Kishimoto Hiroki, confirmed jounin status of sound village, former chunnin of leaf, declared missing nin." Naruto looked at the list of the crimes and whistled. "You are a bad boy Hiroki. Let's see what you can do." He read flipped to the next page. Taijutsu level- Low, genjutsu, non existence. Ninjutsu level average. "Huh how did you get to be a jounin if these things are true?" The next paragraph down explained that. "Oh your one of the snakes little drug buddies. Well don't worry murderer, I will clean you out nice and good." He put the file away and lay on his nap sack to sleep.

He had been on the road for three days and was due at the bridge in two minutes. He had actually been at the bridge and hour early and caught site of the scout. Naruto decided to hide and watch for a bit to see if anything happened. Finally when time was almost up He made a shadow clone and sent it off to talk to the scout. They talked for several minutes; the scout showed Naruto a spot on a map and jumped away. The clone moved into the forest and dispel itself, sending its knowledge to Naruto. He pulled out his map and marked the new place. If their direction of travel proved constant then he should be able to intercept them at a mound that he saw on the map. The platoon would probably camp there for defense. If he could get there before them and plant the right traps, then killing the guy would be easier. Focusing chakra to his feet he used the air walk knowledge to give him a huge burst of speed and headed off west.

-

--

-

The dark haired Kunoichi was in a foul mood. Her Sasuke had vanished to go into solitude to get over some thing that he wouldn't explain. And Madara had taken over her orders and sent her out on a scouting mission into Fire Country. Worse yet he had stuck her with the disgustingly disfigured Kisame. Just looking at that face made her want to gag. The bastard rarely even spoke to her and ignored her when she tried to talk to him. Yes she was in a foul mood when she felt something far to the east.

"Hold it Kisame." She said. "I feel something." The master swordsman stopped and looked back at her for once in their two day journey.

"What's up?" he said.

"I am picking up multiple chakra signatures. About sixteen of them a day east of us. All of them are crap, but one. It's amazingly strong. It has as much Chakra as you to Kisame-sama."

"Hmmm. Might be worth checking out. Let's go. Maybe we can find some fun."

"Or an ass kicking." She retorted. He laughed and changed their path to intercept the group.

-

--

-

Naruto watched from afar with his scope as the enemy nins set up camp. He had been able to get to the mound a couple hours before the group. Using almost all his tools, wire and razor-wire he set up several clever traps meant to kill or delay anyone caught in them. His plan was simple. He needed to make his strike fast and perfect. To do that he would need to remove almost all interference from his path to Hiroki. He thought it out several times over the day and this was the best he could come up with.

He watched as the set up their guard rotation and went to sleep. Marking the guards that would move along his entrance and escape route he moved through the tree tops sticking to the shadows. He wasn't wearing his white shirt but a black one now and he had unfolded the cloth of his head-guard into a bandana and concealed his bright hair. Taking some dirt and running it on his face, he would be hard to spot in the dark as the metal he had on him was non-reflective.

He had a good spot under some dirt in the bushes and waited. About ten minutes later he saw the two man patrol jumping lightly through the shadows. He almost missed them they were so good, but a change in the breeze marked them above him. 'shit' he thought. He had counted on them moving past him not over them. Quickly improvising he pulled out a small bell and tossed it across the worn path into the bushes across from him. His plan worked and they stopped. He could make out them nodding to one another and one jumped to the ground next to his bush while the other took out several kunai and jumped at the stop in the bushes knives blazing. Naruto acted at once. While the second nin was in the middle of his jump down Naruto lunged out of the bush twisting in the air. As he came around on the surprised nin who was by his bush he snapped out his leg catching the man with a devastating kick to the temple. As he landed he surged chakra to his feet and ran to the spot where the last enemy was just now landing, turning to meet the attacker, his kunai out and swinging around to meet Naruto's charge. Taking a page from Hinata's book he quickly fell into a slide and kicked the man hard in the knee forcing it back with a sickening snap. As the man grunted and collapsed Naruto's hand came around forming a Rasengan in an eye blink and pushing it into the guard's chest. The mans eyes popped wide, but couldn't scream as the wind rushed out of him and he flew back slamming into a tree. Naruto quickly looked back to see if the first enemy nin was moving, but thankfully the man was still out.

He took out two sheets of paper and placed them on both of the patrol's foreheads forcing them into a sleep that would last two hours. So far so good. Little sound was made and he was on schedule. Checking his disguise and possessions quickly he made his way to a tree overlooking the camp. All seemed in order. Dipping into his pouch he took the pill that Shizune gave him that would negate the sound genjutsu should it be used on him. Then he waited. Soon about 10 clones' henged as a platoon of Leaf ANBU would attack from the other side of the camp pulling most of the nin away from his path towards the target. Using a burst of speed he would come in with a twice cored Rasengan to take the guy out then grab him and leave in the midst of the chaos over the phantom attackers outside the camp. His Traps that he set up on that side and over his escape route should give him about an hour of breathing room to get a head start back to the village. If the platoon was smart they wouldn't follow him for more than a day as they would probably never make it out of the country then. It was about time.

He readied himself for the attack as an extra clone dispelled itself to let Naruto know they were in position. Without warning A large purple shimmering affected the area on the other side of the base and he instantly felt all his clones dispel. "A Barrier?!' he though. 'oh fuck, the report didn't say they used a barrier!' His plans quickly started to unravel as the entire camp went on alert and 10 enemies woke up and prepared themselves for attack moving into a diamond formation around Hiroki. 'it was too late now, he would have to find a way through the barrier and get to Hiroki though his guards. He thought back to the books he read on barriers_**. 'barriers require equal points and equal chakra usage spread along those points. The easier and most common barrier a shinobi will encounter is a four point barrier. To break the barrier a squad would need to consist of five attackers for each point, focusing their efforts at the space between each focus point. A hole will open at the foci and an attacker must strike. If one point falls the others will no long be able to maintain the barrier and it will collapse.'**_

Baa-chan was right, he would be the only person capable of this job, any other team sent out would have failed right then. He hated to do this, but threw his hands together and made about forty clones. Each knowing the plan in his mind they formed four 6 man teams and headed out. 'If they have a four point barrier erected then the scout gave me bad information. There are at least twenty of the enemy to take care of with the other three patrols returning. He could see then set up guards and looking for their attackers. Now when he wanted them all together Hiroki sent out four of him men to see who was trying to break the barrier. When Naruto collapsed it that would be seven men outside the area of his attack. He would have liked to used a Futon-Rasen-Shurkin, but that would kill his target that needed to be taken alive. Again the extra clone sent with the groups dispelled themselves when they were in position.

Naruto locked eyes on the one of the foci nin closest to him. Out of the night came the shouts of his jutsu. "Futon: Gail-storm hurricane! Katon: Dragon's tongue!" The wind and fire Jutsu collided with the barrier. As the two techniques mixed four larges tornadoes of fire bombarded the barrier from four different angels. The enemy camp gaped in awe at the precision attack. Naruto and two of his clones each formed a twice cored Rasengan and took aim at the foci. The reading was correct. He saw a small opening of the barrier at the foci as they redirected most of their chakra into keeping it up at the attack points. With a burst of Chakra, from all three Naruto's, The bullet Rasengans shot off through the hole and collided with the foci. Two of them took the masked man in the chest and the third tore his arm off sending it spinning away. When the Rasengans detonated there wasn't much left of the man, Naruto felt sick at the bloody kill he performed, but quickly pushed the thought down. He watched as the barrier seemed to shatter like glass just as the four attacks dissipated and the clones dispelled from chakra completion.

Instantly Naruto made his move. He and the fifteen clones he had left jumped into the air. At the peek of their jumped they air walked into another jump and another after that till they were high above the confused camp. 'Sorry mom, but this kid can fly.' The clones and he dove down to the center where Hiroki was directing his platoon to spread out, but it was too late. As he closed on the ground ten of his clones cried out at once. "Katon: Dragons tongue!" and breathed streams of fire in a circle burning about five of the enemy and separating the rest from the target. When the clones landed they were outside the circle and used the jutsu again to push the defense farther away and create confusion. Naruto landed with a kick to the shoulder of Hiroki. 'oh my god' thought Naruto. 'it's like kicking a rock'. Still the force of the kick sent the man to his knees, but it didn't take long to recover. Immediately he engaged Naruto with taijutsu. His body suddenly seemed to be covered with rock. 'So a Dotun eh? I can get through that.' Naruto fought franticly, aware that he didn't have much time. His clones would soon be killed or run out of chakra and vanish and then the camp would be all over him. His eight moons path of taijutsu confused the snarling Hiroki, and Instead of biding his time and defending till his men could aid him he went for the kill himself which was a mistake.

Naruto faked slipping and Hiroki sensing an opening came in with a powerful double overhand chop. Naruto however was prepared. HE fell into the splits and lay on the ground as the punch passed over him, throwing the traitor off balance. Sweeping his legs quickly back into position Naruto pushed off the ground and back flipped coming up with an open palmed uppercut to the stone covered chest. The palm however had the twice-cored rasengan shining within it. Hiroki screamed as the sphere tore through his Doton defense and the core impacted against his sternum. The violent force of the powerful core hurtled the man some thirty feet into the air twirling him around like a rag doll. Naruto quickly made four clones. The four jumped high into the air and caught the falling nin. Using their chakra they air jumped farther into the air and away from the camp and running hard away. Naruto ran on full speed while two of the clones carried the unconscious Hiroki and the last covered their tracks.

When the clones at the camp dispelled and the smoke and the fires were taken care of with some Suiton jutsu the found their leader missing and none could tell where he went. They assumed that he had ran away to leave them to die. Not wanting to deal with any more attacks they left the camp and gathered their supplies headed back towards rice country. The plan worked better than the first one Naruto came up with. He was scot free, or so he thought.

-

--

-

Karin and Kisame arrived at the battle sight two hours after Naruto performed his brilliance.

"Well shit! We missed all the fun!" The sword man remarked taking a look around the devastated camp.

"That's fine with me the every grumpy Karin replied."

"Oh stop being such a pussy Karin. After all I think I know who we are after!"

"And how would you know that?"

"Because obvious a leaf ninja attacked this camp, these are sound nin head-hands on these cooked bastards other here. And the only leaf nin that has close to my amount of chakra is the nine-tails brat. 2 plus 2 equals 4 woman."

"Hmmm" Karin said. He is only a couple hours Northeast of us. He seems alone, but there is a feint trace of one other with him. it's low so it's probably someone he captured. He will be burdened and hopefully hurt."

"Heh! Just him eh? The kids gotten pretty strong, there were at least fifteen guys in the camp. Yeah it's decided. Our orders are to try and take him if the opportunity presents itself and alone out here days from reinforcements is the best opportunity we may ever have. Let's move."

The two headed after the nine-tails container.

-

--

-

Naruto was sitting at his fire eating some rations. He was silently patting himself on the back. His first solo mission and an 'S' Class at that. He did it. Against all odds he broke though a barrier and held off held off a platoon of trained nin to capture his target. He defeated a Jounin all by himself. He looked over to the man who had one of the sleeping seals on him. "Yeah! You suck! I rock!" he laughed. He took out his pack and rummaged through it taking out a pad a paper and a pen. He figured he would start on his report now so it would be ready when he got back home. The first place he planned on going was to see Hinata. He told her he would be about a day, but that was before the mission change way out here near the border of rice country.

It took him about two hours but he tucked away the pad, satisfied till he could type it up at the office. He checked his perimeter traps once more and the prisoner and headed to his bedroll for a good sleep.

"Well, well, well." A voice called out from the trees stopping Naruto in his tracks. See Karin I was right! It's the nine-tails kid!" Slowly Naruto turned around and his eyes widened. He stared at the red clouds, his eyes roaming over the large sword till they rested on the distorted half shark face of a man from his nightmares.

"Kisame..." He whispered.

"See that Karin! He remembers me! What do you say kid, why don't you come quietly and it won't be that painful? It isn't so bad having a bijuu sucked out of you, like going to sleep. However I certainly won't mind if you put up a fight. I'll happily shave a few tails off of you!"

"You are so uncool Kisame" Naruto looked over to the man's partner. It was a fairly cute woman with glasses and dark hair. She had a frown on her face as she looked at Naruto, but it upturned at the edges. "So your, Naruto, Sasuke's old team-mate," She stated.

That clicked for Naruto who was no longer interested in running. "What do you know about Sasuke?" He yelled out.

Kisame looked over at Karin and grinned. "Thanks Karin, I think you just provided me with a little bit of fun. Let me give you the low-down on the nine-tails kid there. He has this crazy idea in his mind that your dear Sasuke is still his friend and he insists on bringing the punk back to Konoha so that can be old chums again." Kisame looked back at Naruto and his toothy smile widened. "Give it up kid. Sasuke killed Itachi and you know the first thing he did after that? Took Itachi's place in our organization. Yup!" He laughed seeing the incredulous look on Naruto's face. "Your friend is one of us that will be snatching your pathetic little life right out of you. HA!"

"I do have to admit though Kisame. He is pretty cute and kinda cool. Not as cool as Sasuke of course, but still kinda cool." Karin said.

"You and your cool bullshit. Stay out of this Karin, this guy was originally mine and Itachi's target. I want to go at this alone." Kisame took off his sword as the bandages unraveled revealing the monstrous purple scales. Naruto gritted his teeth and though furiously. 'This isn't good at all.' In the blink of an eye the action started. Kisame jumped from the treetops bringing his sword around his a swing. Naruto Back flipped through the air and created five clones. Two of them formed some seals as they landed. "Katon: Dragon's Tongue!" and two streams of fire shot out at the powerful Akatsuki. Kisame Brought is sword up to block and Naruto watched helplessly as it just ate the fire. His other two clones came in from the side, Rasengans ready, but the swordsman saw them coming. He stabbed out faster that Naruto would have thought possible at one taking it in the head and He back kicked the other sending it flying through the air where if vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto didn't waste any time. Forming ten more clones They jumped into the air and formed the Twice-cored Rasengan. Aiming at the bored looking fish man they fired them off at High speed. Kisame looked startled, but reacted quickly. He held his sword vertically and stood sideways behind it. The balls of pure chakra didn't even make contact with the sword as it ate every bit of the spheres with ease. He didn't notice the sixth clone at his side firing another Rasen-bullet however and got clipped in the shoulder. It flung him through the air twirling like a top. Somehow during the wild spin he flung his sword at the main host of Naruto and his clones who were preparing another round of Rasen-bullets. Naruto and his clones scattered losing concentration on the techniques. One clone got clipped and popped and the sword tore through a tree.

Kisame landed on his feet holding his injured shoulder. He formed some seals and his stomach inflated. All of a sudden he vomited a small lake worth of water from his mouth. One of Naruto's clones quickly snatched up the prisoner and ran off to someplace safe. The other clones got caught up in the waves and they too were dispelled. Naruto felt himself tumbling along with the onslaught of water, bashing against trees till one pinned him and the Lake was formed. He made yet more clones and sent them to the bottom to guard from any underwater attacks. He swam to the surface and crawled onto the water panting and holding his injured rib.

'This isn't good.' He thought. My strongest attacks are just wasted on him because of that damn sword.' He also knew that separating Kisame from the sword wouldn't do any good because he could call the damned thing back whenever he wanted. He looked around the lake. It was hard to see anything in the black water of the nighttime. He could see Karin standing on tree branch still idly looking at her nails with a bored expression on her face. He stood still waiting for the attack, and indeed it came.

Rising from the water four large Water dragons each twice the size of anything Kakashi had made rocketed towards Naruto twisting and sinuous their mouths gaping. Naruto jumped into the air, but it did no good he jumped too soon and they homed in on him.

"HA! Nice try kid, weak showing, but at least you managed to hit me! See you in the after-life!"

His laughter stopped when he saw Naruto stepping and jumping in the air. The Dragons were too close and couldn't adjust and they crashed into each other creating a tsunami that swept Karin, cursing from her branch into the water. Naruto landed on top of the water and faced a stunned Kisame. "What the hell was that? That was pretty nice I will admit, I have never heard of anyone walking on air before. Maybe this will be better than I thought!" he grinned that malicious grin of his. He breathed in and spat out a high velocity water bullet at Naruto. Naruto Charged in and pulled out his two chakra knives, His eyes a chilling red, his face becoming more fox-like as he drew on the Kyuubi chakra. He wove between the water bullets with great speed and the two chakra powerhouses came together with a clash of force that sent a large wave of water hurtling outward. Karin was trying to ring out her clothes and didn't see it coming till it slammed into her sending her back underwater.

Meanwhile Naruto and Kisame where ducking and weaving trying to land a hit on the other. Naruto didn't block the sword with his knives know it would just suck up the chakra and shatter the blades, so focused on his taijutsu and dodged as best he could. Kisame sword his great sword around and Naruto saw his chance, quickly tucking his blade into his armguard he jumped and formed a regular rasengan in his hand. As the sword came around he snapped a kick at Kisame's face which the sword-man just tilted his head to avoid, but as he did that he lost sight of the other foot which stopped his swing cold. Naruto hooked his legs around the arm and rotated under it, in the same move that he used in the spar against Hinata. As he came underneath and upside down he pulled with his legs throwing the man off balance and shoved the Rasengan into his stomach.

Kisame screamed from the pain and was launched through the air. Unfortunately Naruto didn't let go of Kisame's arm and was dragged along with them and they both went tumbling along the water till Naruto hit a tree and sunk below the surface, dazed from the impact. Slowly he came to his senses and climbed on top of the water panting, bleeding and badly hurt. 'Did I get him?' he thought, looking around wildly. Suddenly his necklace grew warm against his skin and he felt the Kyuubi chakra he had been using pushed away, leaving him dizzy in the sudden loss of power. 'What the hell?' He thought. He didn't have time to wonder about that though as Kisame showed himself roaring in anger.

"You son of a bitch! That really fucking hurt. Ok kid the gloves are off, I've had enough fun." The man dropped below the water dodging the shurkins that Naruto threw. Naruto jumped back as a water dragon appeared, then another and another and yet another. Before Naruto knew it there were twelve dragons heading towards him. He quickly made around a hundred clones to buffet himself from the impact. The dragons hit the wall of clones that pushed out with their chakra at the same instant. The wind blade cut the water dragons in two dispelling the jutsu, but the move wore Naruto out and the surge of the remaining water destroyed all his clones. He could barely stand on the water and he knelt trying to gather his breath. 'I've got to get away somehow.' This guy is too much. He heard the quick steps on the water and looked out the corner of his eye. Kisame was there. Much too close! The sword came in! He couldn't dodge it!

Kisame grinned as his sword hit Naruto square in the side, the blood splattered out and the blond went flying through the air half torn in two. Kisame started to laugh and stopped as a puff of smoke revealed a replacement. The Master Swordsman narrowed his eyes and looked around.

"Hey Kisame, I got something to tell you." Kisame turned quickly and looked up to see a Naruto standing up on a branch, battered but standing pretty much just fine.

"Wow kid you're a lot tougher than I thought! I haven't had this good a fight in since that Gai character."

"Kisame," Naruto spoke quietly.

"What?"

"You lost."

\Suddenly Kisame was spun through the water. A huge whirlpool at gathered under him. 'What the hell?' the half shark thought as he spun around faster and faster. He tried to form some seals, but the buffet of water didn't let him. The whirlpool sucked a huge whole to the bottom of the forest that the lake had covered and Kisame got closer and closer to the bottom. At the bottom the clones that Naruto made at the started of the fight were holding their twice-cored rasengan in a circle creating the distortion and pulling him towards the center. He lost control of his sword and one of the clones who was free reached out and grabbed the Akatsuki pinning him down as he struggled in vain to free himself. High above a refreshed Naruto, due to a soldier pill leapt, into the air with two clones with him They put their hands together and in moments the Futon-Rasen-Shurkin erupted into lethal existence. Naruto screamed out as he fell back down to the ground.

"YOU'RE FUCKED!" he screamed as loud as he could and fired off the Jutsu. Time slowed down for Kisame, he could see the end coming. 'What is that' he thought as it got closer. 'Itachi, my only friend, I'll see you soon in hell.' The Jutsu struck.

-

Karin was nursing a wounded pride, but looked on the battle of monsters in awe. They kept pounding away at each other. Those dragons would have finished him off, but the blond created more clones than she had ever seen before and with masterful control of Wind nature that she herself used destroyed the attack. Now she looked on in horror as she saw the scariest damn technique she had ever seen. When it hit She was rocked backwards and slammed into a tree. She couldn't move, she was pinned from gale force winds and the violent surges of buffeting her. Finally after what seemed forever the wind and water died down, slowly dissipating into the earth. She stuggled to her feet and looked at the epicenter of the titanic battle. There was a crater hundreds of feet wide and hundreds of feet deep.

"Oh wow! Sasuke I am sorry but your friend Naruto is way cooler than you!" She walked towards the hole and looked down. She could See Kisame laying at the bottom torn to shreds and dead as a man or half beast could be. "I told you if we came here we were looking for an ass-kicking you deformed idiot, but no. Now look at you. Another of the so called great Akatsuki is down for the count." She smirked. She heard a groan from the side and looked over to see the Naruto kid lying on the ground struggling to his knees cuts everyone and blood dripping to the muddy ground. Karin walked over to him calmly. She placed a foot on his side and kicked him over. The exhausted, but cute guy offered no resistance, he gritted his teeth and tried to struggle against her.

'Damnit!' Naruto thought. 'I forgot all about her. Kyuubi!' he called though his mind. 'I need you damnit!' There was no answer, he couldn't even touch the chakra. He could feel, it but couldn't connect with it for some reason, it kept getting pushed away.

"Too bad Naruto." Karin said. "I could really have gone for a guy like you. I'm sure Sasuke will be glad to see you…NOT!" She giggled. She raised her hand and the wind chakra formed around in a type of blade. "Don't worry it wont kill you, I am just going to sever your spine. I'm told they need you guys alive." She brought her blade down.

-

--

-

Two days ago Kushina had barged into Tsunade's office in an impressive fury. "What the hell did you do?!" Tears streaming from her eyes as she got into Tsunade's face, who looked away. "Don't you look away from me! Look me in the eyes."

Tsunade looked gravely back to the distraught mother. "It had to be done." She said,

"Don't give me that! You sent him on a real mission ALONE!" She collapsed, shaking in fear. "He isn't ready! That's what the test was supposed to be for! To give him some idea what it would be like out there! Not just release him into danger with no experience at all!"

"He was the only one suited for the task!" Tsunade snapped back. "The window was closing and we didn't have the man power available and he was the only one with the skills who had a good chance of succeeding! I exhausted all other options, but the fact of the matter is I needed him and I used a valuable and powerful resource."

"He's not a resource!" Kushina snarled, her vigor renewed.

"Yes he is! The mission is similar to the exam we had set up, but they have no knowledge of his coming or his abilities, so he has a huge advantage. Have faith in him! He will make it thought.

And that is how it turned out. For two days Kushina hovered around the office, annoying everyone greatly, and waiting for some news of Naruto to arrive. She had a terrible feeling and although Tsunade wouldn't say anything, she had a bad feeling as well. Kushina was sitting quietly on the couch while she reviewed the days end reports. It was late at night and Naruto should have completed the mission if the scout's reports and time table had been correct. A chunnin platoon was dispatched early this morning to intercept Naruto and provide aid in escorting the prisoner back or medical attention if it went sour.

She was just tucking the final report into a folder on their desk when she heard a sharp crack. Both she and Kushina looked over to a table against the wall. There sitting for them both to see a Picture of Naruto in his comical blue teddy-bare shirt had cracked down the middle. Tsunade felt her heart stop and Kushina fell to her knees, her hands on her mouth staring at the omen with wide eyes. She started to shake her head in denial.

"No, no, no, no." she muttered over and over.

-

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Karin swung her wind blade and there was a small squirt of blood and Naruto screamed in agony. His hands beat at the ground as his legs twitched awkwardly. 'Oh my god.' He thought. 'I can't feel my legs.' He kept trying to kick and thought it would work, but he felt nothing they wouldn't work. He couldn't believe it. He was seriously fucked. She was going to take him back and he would die. All his fathers and mothers dreams and sacrifices would be in vain. Akatsuki would win. How could it come to this? He stopped screaming and fought down the pain. He opened his eyes to see Karin adjusting her bra under the black robe. The moonlight was highlighting her callous yet childish features. She looked down and met his eyes.

"There that wasn't so bad was it? Sorry about this, but Sasuke follows them and I follow Sasuke, so you know."

"You bitch. Sasuke would never do this!" Naruto screamed. Karin sighed as she looked down at the paralyzed kid.

"Kisame was right, you just don't know Sasuke like the rest of us do. Oh well lets get started, we have a long way to go and Madara will be happy to see you." She reached down and grabbed his hair.

"Madara?! So he's the leader of Akatsuki!" Naruto exclaimed. Karin winced at this.

"Shit. Me and my big mouth. Oh well it's not like your gonna be able to tell any body."

"I wouldn't say that just yet Karin." A new voice rang out in the still night air. The voice was perfectly harmonic to Naruto's ears. It froze Karin in her tracks with eyes full of fear, that was all Naruto needed to see for feel a glimmer of hope. He battered at Karin's hand, forcing her to let go of his air. H twisted his crippled body around as best he could to see what was probably one of the most beautiful women on the planet barring Karin's way. She had long jet black hair the was set into eight very intricate braids that fell down to attack to a white Kimono with eight split ends, each braid threaded into the cloth. Naruto could only stare.

"38C." He muttered. The two women ignored him. Karin backed up a step and readied her chakra blade.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She asked the shaking in her voice apparent.

"I could ask the same of you Karin. I told you I was coming here to unite with the nine-tails. You should have known I might have been around somewhere. You really didn't think I would let this little gem of power escape my eyes for long did you?" The raven haired women said. Karin gulped and backed up another step.

"How did you mask your presence?" Karin asked. "I should have detected you!"

"I suppressed my chakra and hid by the man that Naruto was carrying back to the village. I was close enough to him that you felt it to be one source. Plus the nine-tails here and that blue skinned monster were throwing off so much chakra in that impressive skirmish that I figured you wouldn't notice anything odd." She replied.

Karin backed up another step. "Fine have the container. He is all yours."

The woman clucked and shook her head. "Oh no that wouldn't do at all. You see, I still need my …bounty, from last time." Her eyes glittered with malice and a promising smile that Naruto shivered at. Karin's eyes grew wide and he leapt away to escape into the forest. The dark haired woman made a quick seal and a multitude of mud ropes lashed through the air catching the Kunoichi and dragging her back down holding her to the ground. Karin screamed and thrashed on the ground, Pulses of Air chakra kept cutting the ropes, only to get replaced again and again. Slowly the braided woman walked by Naruto and knelt down next to him. "Be calm young one. I will be back to help you. Do not fear, this is something I must address before I can aid you." She whispered to him, not taking her eyes off Karin. Then standing She walked away to the into the forest, the mud vines dragging a screaming Karin behind her. Naruto watched as they tore off her clothing, leaving her bare and nude spread eagle and still struggling away into the Darkness.

Naruto had to listen for long minutes, as the cries and please of the kunoichi into the night air. Normally he would rage against what might be happening out there in the darkness, but considering his current condition, for once he couldn't come up with much sympathy for the wind user. Thankfully after ten minutes or so it all stopped and the women returned, with a grim but pleased look on her face. She approached Naruto and knelt down and picked him up.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked in a pained voice.

"My name is Na'omi." She said simply and compassionately.

"What did you do to her?"

"She and her cold friend Sasuke attacked me once before trying to take me to be drained. I escaped, but promised that I would take my bounty on her for the attack and pain she caused. I couldn't stay and do that at the time as Sasuke would interfere, so I used I used this opportunity to get my little revenge. Don't worry." She said after seeing the look on Naruto's face. "She isn't dead, although she should be after what she did to you. I spared her life, but gave her something to think about should she ever see me again. I don't think she will cause much more trouble." Naruto nodded and looked at the woman again.

"You said they wanted to drain you? Are you..?"  
"A Jinkuurki? Yes. I carry the Yamoto No Orochi inside me, the eight tails." Naruto's eyes widened at that. The eight tails, the only other beast to rival the kyuubi, the tailed only beast of mythology that supposedly battled the Nine-tails for over a weak before having to flee.

"How did you know where I was?" he asked as she carried him along. To where he didn't know.

"I have been watching you for some time trying to decide if you would accept my aid. You must understand Naruto, our bijuu's are mortal rivals. I was not sure if your thoughts followed along the lines of your tailed demon. I had to be sure."

"Did you see the battle?"

"Yes. Very impressive, you are very strong." He gritted his teeth in anger.

"Then why didn't you help sooner! Why did you let her do this to me?" he snapped out.

"Because I would only come when there was no other option for you. Your nature is much like mine in that sense. We need to stand on our own feet, not be protected all the time. I was about so come when I thought she was going to kill you, but when she said her plans I stopped to give you the chance to get out of it yourself."

"Well that's all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that from now on I wont be able to fight! I'm paralyzed!"

"Oh don't worry about that little thing." She responded calmly. "I can partially heal that and your bijuu can do the rest. You will be up on those handsome legs in minutes."

"You can? It can?" Naruto asked in astonishment. The woman laughed at him.

"Of course! You don't seem to know much about our abilities for holding the king inside of you."

"I don't like to talk to it much."  
"Whatever for?"

"I was captured and sealed in me during a battle. Many people died so I hate the thing. My father died to stop it. Why would I want to get to know it?"

"Don't hate them Naruto, pity them." He stared at her at this comment. "The bijuu's have no choice in how they act and what they are. They are born from man's will and exist for their purpose. They are more an elemental force with a will behind them. They can't change or think outside of the emotions that birthed them. Could you hate a hurricane that blew a house down and killed the family inside?"

"No." he said instinctively.

"Then don't hate the bijuu. Learn from them and use them and wish for their non-existence, but don't ignore them when they are part of human nature." They finally arrived and Naruto saw that she had taken him some ways away where his prison was on the ground still sleeping with the sleep seal on his forehead. He looked back at Na'omi.

"What do you mean they are a part of human Nature?" Na'omi didn't answer right away. She first started a fire close to Naruto to warm them up. He was very wet and cold he realized, so welcomed the fire.

She finally say down across from him and carefully arranged her hair and kimono, that hadn't a spot of dirt on it for some reason.

"It is simple Naruto." She said in that melody of a voice. "Each bijuu seems to have a certain instinctive drive. Yours for example is to destroy and kill. So that is malice. Mine is to gain more power and status, so it is ambition. The one-tail is insanity. I don't know about all of them, but you should get the picture. Ages ago beyond our recorded history during the worst of barbarism the beasts were said to have been born. Whole nations of souls and chakra were consumed at the instant of their birth, the last driving will of those souls became the will of the bijuu's. Most demons are born in similar ways, so it was no different for the tailed beasts. For my Bijuu, I learned from it that it was born in a city called So'Chi. It was a smithing city that made great weapons and armor. However there was another city to the east of them that was considered the best in the world. They took the best contracts, the strongest armies and Shoguns came to them, so So'Chi grew envious and watched the city's great wealth and status. In time this grew and grew, but So'Chi could not act due to the rival city's power, so their envy festered till they began to take subvert action, trying to sabotage their mining. They eventually succeeded and their rivals status fell more and more under the secret attacks and So' Chi's wealth and influence grew. But this was not enough for them, they turned their eyes to the various shogun's military might and wanted that as well. The Shoguns' however proved uninfluencable as their malice and atrocities against the common people grew worse and worse. To make a long story short The naked ambition of the entire city grew so great that people started to die some unknown reasons. First a couple, and then more. And with each death people grabbed for more wealth and more status and more power. More died and their feeling and actions increased until one night The remaining smiths of the So'Chi got together and forged a great sword called the Kusanagi and poured all their knowledge and power and feelings of ambition into the weapon, hoping to save themselves. However after it was forged, the blade broke into three pieces and in a sudden rush all that chakra and power poured forth killing the entire city and those souls and power and will, created the Yamoto No Orochi, the eight tailed beast." Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of her. The story was captivating. She turned those pools of liquid night to his eyes as she finished.

"I am sure the Kyuubi has a very similar story and would gladly tell you if you were to ask, but that if for another time. Let us now turn our attention towards healing you." Naruto shook his head dispelling the hypnotic trance her voice seemed to instill. He nodded vigorously at this.

"Oh yes! I would really like to stand again. I'm crippled for less that an hour and it feels like a lifetime."

"Very well then, listen carefully. One of my bijuu's powers is the healing of others. However when I call on that chakra, the Kyuubi will become greatly enraged when it feels the eight-tail's chakra. You must fight with every spark of will now to let it free. I will only be a few moments and I will be done. Can you do that?"

"I can try, although I probably wouldn't pose must a threat to you when I can't walk and you have the eight tails within you."

"You would be surprised Naruto. Prepare yourself then." She stood up and walked over to him. Carefully she removed his new, but dirty and torn coat. And black undershirt. "Hmm very nice." She said running her hands long his naked torso, a teasing glint in her soulful eyes. Naruto blushed more that he ever had before.

"Hey! I have a girl-friend!"

"Hmmm," Na'omi just shrugged and turned him on his belly. She placed one of her stripes of cloth at the back of her kimono and brain on his lower back, where the cut could be seen that severed his spinal cord. "Brace yourself young one." Naruto put a piece of bark in his teeth to bite down on. She made a long series of seals then softly uttered a phrase he couldn't understand and he felt a tingling sensation in his back. He barely had a second to think about this before he felt the Kyuubi roar insanely in his mind and batter at the seal, sending wave after wave of red chakra to try and take Naruto over to confront his nemesis. Naruto was soon sweating in the struggle to keep it at bay, but thankfully it seemed the necklace he worse have him the support he needed. He felt it grow warmer than it already was and shield the kyuubi in its cage, pushing the chakra back. Naruto soon passed out as Na'omi finished and covered him with his coat. He heard her mutter. "very nice" one more time as he fell away into Darkness.

-

Naruto felt awareness slowly come back to him. A bright light pierced his eye lids and be blinked rapidly to adjust to the daylight. He gave a huge yawn and sat up, his coat falling beside him. Looking around he saw Na'omi, his savior eating some rabbit that was roasting over the fire. She looked over at him.

"Good morning. Gracious do you sleep a long time! It's almost 3 in the afternoon." Naruto blushed and grinned sheepishly. "You are very cute when you blush though." The blush deepened and get gave ringing laugh. Naruto looked down at his legs and tried to flex them to find that they worked just fine. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I don't know how to thank you for healing me. Its like I got my life back."

"Don't worry about that it was really a small thing. I need you more than you need me. You have a village to support your, I do not."

"Why not?" Naruto asked but had a feeling he knew the answer. Na'omi just shrugged though.

"I'm not very sociable; when I retired years and years ago I just left."

"Years? You can be much older than me!" She gave a charming laugh and looked at him with that spark in her eye he saw last night.

"You are a charmer, but I am over one hundred years old. The power of the seven, eight and nine tails is such that they greatly extend our life-span. We of course can and will die…just not for awhile."

"Wow! You look great for an old bag!" Na'omi just paused and looked at him with a deadpan face a vein in her temple popping and Naruto blanched at his big mouth.

"I take back the charming part. You can be absolutely revolting." She huffed out and resumed her eating.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean it that way." She ignored him. He decided to check out the prisoner. The seal was weakened, but he applied some chakra to it to strengthen it. He sat by the fire and snatched the other rabbit and devoured it almost whole.

"My god!" Na'omi remarked. "Did you chew that or just inhale it?" he grinned and laughed, he was used to people saying similar things about his eating habits.

"We need to get back to the village. I am sure you did something nasty to Karin, but I am sure the leader of Akatsuki knows that Kisame is dead and where he died. We need to get out of here quickly. Na'omi agreed and they stood up, stretching their limbs. Naruto couldn't help but watch as a long shapely limb came out from the kimono. It was very pale and smooth. And he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

Naomi saw him looking at her leg and turned it just so he could see more and smiled that secret smile. Slowly she undid the sash at her waist the spread open the silk to show a different type of silk underneath. She shrugged out of her cloths and walked languidly towards the teen, running her hands up and down her nude body.

"Naruto." She whispered lustfully as she got close to him. His mouth was cry, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He had never seen a nude woman before and she was breath-taking. She reached out for him and started to remove his coat.

"I-I can't" he rasped out. His body both hot and flushed. "Hinata-chan-"

"Shhhhhh." Na'omi said. "Sometimes people need someone for one moment who truly understands them. I am sure you love this Hinata very much and you will have a wonderful life together. But right now Naruto, we are the same, different parts to a hole." Her voice was very low and she continued to remove his cloths. He came to his senses and pulled away from her, breathing hard.

"Stop! I'm no pervert! I cant do this! I love Hinata, I barely know you!" Na'omi started at the both for a moment and with a regretful sigh pulled her cloths back on.

"Suit yourself." She said in a chipped tone. "Fits man I've offered myself to in twenty years and you reject me for a little girl! Hmpf!" Naruto took a moment to collect himself after that passionate experience. He watched her receding back as she heading in the direction of the Village. Wanting to kick himself for having a girl-friend for the first time he created two clones to carry the prisoner and followed after her.

"Home Sweet Home." He muttered

End Chapter 9

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-**Next chapter** – Naruto and Na'omi return the village. He receives his jounin vest, and must interceded between Na'omi and Hinata who almost come to blows over the blond

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**A/N**

-Wow this was won hell of a long chapter. It took me the entire day almost non-stop to write it, but I didn't want any cliff-hangers. I wanted the whole jounin exam in one shot.

-NO Na'omi did NOT do what most people with think she did to Karin. Those details will be revealed in a later chapter.

-A lot of people may think the NaruxKisame fight was too short, but you have to think of something. Those two were chakra powerhouses. Their moves are very strong. Regardless of who they are too many hits from their jutsu would wind anyone down. It was meant to be fast and Brutal. Neither are technical fighters like Shikamaru or Jiriya or Pain. They Pounding to the ground so something like that wouldn't last long, plus Naruto just stormed a camp so was low on chakra as well as the proximity of the second necklace pushing away his Kyuubi power.

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	10. Chapter 10 Drown in Guilt

**A/N**

-Thanks for the reviews guys. Nothing motivates someone to write faster than some good reviews. and more than just a -cool story- note. Thanks again.

-Blah blah blah usual stuff, filler chapter

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**Chapter 10**

**Drown in Your Guilt**

Naruto and his new found ally jumped from branch to branch through the heavily wooded area struggling for their lives. The sunlight struggled through the canopy of leaves basking the pair with lines of gold and shadow as they passed. They were about a day outside of the village and moving fast. For two days they had been running with no sleep, no food and were running low on chakra. Naruto was right that Akatsuki would move fast to try and get the pair before they made it to the city. Neither had imagined just exactly what they would send. Over two hundred enemy nins converged on them. They had unmarked forehead protectors and were of various chunnin and jounin status. Naruto couldn't guess where they came from and at the moment didn't care. The skirmishes were fast and fierce. Wave after wave of camouflaged men and women assaulted them and got worse the closer they got to the village. 'How did this many shinobi get so close to the village with no one noticing?' Naruto thought as they jumped along. 'Where are our forces? We should have seen someone.' Naruto didn't like the implications of that, but both had to admit that they were on their own for the time being.

"SHIFT!" Na'omi screamed. At the sign Naruto dropped from the branch and pushed off a tree truck to a different branch just as several dozen bolt of fire speed pas them. Naruto gritted his teeth and responded by nailing the attacker in the face with a Rasen-bullet. Naruto had grown apathetic to blood and death on this mission. He would deal with it when he got home, but he couldn't leave a living invader alive. They thought at first that injured enemies would slow them down, but the enemy just left their dead. This ended up delaying the pair as they tried to handicap rather than kill who they encountered. So the unspoken agreement was made. Slaughter anyone that comes between them and safety.

"Doton: Heavenly Rain! Katon: Crying Phoenix!" Na'omi performed two jutsu each with one handed seals. The ground in front of them that held six nin erupted with fire storm of burning mud and earth. The screaming was intense and short as they died. Naruto threw a Gale-storm Hurricane in the midst of the burning smoke making a path for them to go through. Naruto put on a burst of speed and came side by side with Na'omi.

"We can't keep this up. I'm almost out. Is there anything you have that can give us a rest?" he had asked this before, but exhaustion made him forget. She wearily shook her head in denial.

"The technique I do have requires me to be well rested. At this point I can't even summon a 10th of the chakra needed for it." Naruto sighed and looked up in the middle of anther jump. Both he and Na'omi had to jump backwards and shift direction and a multitude of various elemental dragons converged on them. They had to jump back again as a dozen kunai with explosive tags cut off their escape. In the explosion of knives and dragons they both sought the only place they could. The ground.

They landed to find themselves surrounded by close to forty grey clad nin. "Well sunshine, sorry but we gave it a good run." Na'omi remarked. Naruto dropped the prisoner and got into the eight moons stance, his gloves each creating a rasengan to smash an opponent.

"Its ok kitten." The two had come up with pet names for each other in their flight. Sunshine she said because he looked like a bright ray of dawn with his hair and outfit. And kitten because he said she tended to purr out her words whenever she flirted with him. "Let's not make it easy on them eh?" The option of using their bijuu power was closed. Neither could do that close to the other and they couldn't split up, so it was all up to their own power.

Na'omi flashed him a seductive little smile. "Don't pass out not sunshine. I just might have to take advantage of you." Naruto smirked.

"If we get through this I just might have to let you." He replied. Any further talk ended as the mass of enemies came in. Naruto didn't have time to spare a look at how Na'omi was doing; He had all he could handle on his own. He spun through the air snapping a kick against the head of one, and did a roundhouse against another. He landed and did the splits as two kunai thrusts passed over him. He thrust his hands out to the sides planting the rasengan into the guts of each. They flew back bowling over several of their friends. Naruto drew his two chakra blades, the only weapons he had left from his lost supplies. He didn't have time to do much more as he was soon dodging, water bullets, fire balls, Charging nin and after affects of Na'omi's own fierce struggle for survival. Naruto tried for a slice whenever he could, but he was so low on chakra he couldn't even make a wind blade, He defiantly couldn't make even one clone.

"Ugh!" He grunted in pain. He thought he was about to break through their defense and link up with Na'omi when a trio of Shurkin struck his leg causing him to trip. Quickly the enemies had him wrapped up in various wind and earth binding Jutsu. He looked over to see that Na'omi was in a similar situation, but with a large gash on her forehead and her eyes were closed.

One of the nin reached up to his neck. "We have them both." He said. He stopped to listen to an unknown response. "Affirmative." He looked to his surrounding comrades. "Pick them up and move quickly, the Leaf is almost here."

"We already are!" A voice called out from the tree tops. Naruto's heart clenched at the sound and he looked up in both fear and hope. Yes. She was here; against his wishes there she was garbed in her white blouse and pants, her red-hair flowing in the battle breeze. The enemy spared no time and turned firing off a plethora of long range techniques at his mother. Kushina jumped and sailed down toward her son, her long mane of thick red hair flowing behind her. Her hands furiously working on the seals, a glow of chakra surrounded her and water started to leak from her feet. When she landed a circular wall of water surrounded the trio and time seemed to stop for a moment as Kushina looked up, a deadly glint in her promising green eyes. She spoke softly. "Suiton: Jaws of Catastrophe…"

The water wall fell apart into hundred of spinning disks of razor sharp water that spat out suddenly in all directions. The enemy didn't even have time to cry out as heads were taken and half of them fell dead. Some of them erected walls earth to block the attacks and would have lived if Kushina was alone. Naruto bit his lip as a blur of brown and black appeared next to one of the nin behind the wall and suddenly he was rent apart but the violent forces of a heavenly spin. Hinata then performed her move for the first time in battle. Using almost all her chakra in this surprise attack she propelled herself from the spin forming another spin in mid air passing through two other enemies and again and again she did this till Naruto's entire vision was filled with the residual of Hinata's technique. "Hinata…" he whispered.

The rest of the enemy were sent fleeing or dead as Kakashi and Sakura entered the fray charging in with killer kicks and a lethal chidori. The jutsu that held Naruto broke as their users were either dead of fleeing the battle. Naruto struggled to his knees as his friends and family surrounded him. Kushina kept touching him and looking him over muttering something over and over that he couldn't understand. Finally he took her hands and stopped her examination.

"Mom..." She stopped and looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm all right…I'm alright." She sighed and pulled him into a crushing hug. "M-Mom! I'm not alright! I'm not alright!" He gasped as she crushed the air out of him. She quickly let go with a concerned look.

"Sakura!"

"Hai!" The pink haired nin knelt by him, but couldn't do anything as Hinata charged in and flung herself onto Naruto, weeping and kissing his face over and over again."

"Hinata-chan…" He said softly, wrapping his arms around the sobbing young girl. Sakura looked at them fondly, before moving to see if the woman and man who were with Naruto were alright. She quickly healed the gash on the woman's forehead. She moved to the man and was startled to see a sound nin headband.

"Naruto!" She called sharply. Naruto finally pried Hinata off of him and looked how.

"Sakura-chan?"

"This man has a sound nin headband!" She looked confused.

"Oh yeah!" he got up and limped over to the prison and put him foot on his stomach and folding his arms as he looked at his mother with that cocky smirk on his face.

"Mission Complete!" Kushina, Hinata and Sakura all narrowed their eyes and in once voice cried out.

"BAKA!" He flinched and lost that look.

"What?" He asked.

Naruto sat in the hospital bed writing out his final mission report. Tsunade had been furious with him that He had stayed and fought the Akatsuki instead of running and almost denied him his promotion to jounin for the stupidity till he pointed that he had indeed defeated the strongest of the mist Swordsmen alone, infiltrated an enemy camp and completed his first mission against odds that most of the other jounin couldn't have done.

So Tsunade gave in and focused her attention on what he knew of the woman. She was furious that he had brought the eight-tails container with him to the village, but he threatened that if she or anyone in the village gave her any problems he would resign from leaf shinobi and leave. When asked about his dreams of Hokage he replied. 'If this village would turn away a friend and ally who saved the life of your friend, then I don't want any part of it!" Tsunade gave in on that to and left him in a huff ordering him to writing up a very detailed report. He didn't know what was worse, the paperwork or the battle to get home. Hinata was by his side every day, smothering him with concern to the point that he snapped and demanded that Tsunade give the Hyuuga a mission to give him some peace for a couple days. He was still trying to sort out his love for Hinata and his strange feelings for Na'omi. Sakura and his mother took Hinata spot though and he found no escape for private thoughts.

He really didn't need to be in the hospital anymore, but as long as he was there, he was getting papered and treated to Ramen every day, so he played still being injured, well until today. He was just finishing up his report as Tsunade barged into the room.

"What are you still doing here?" She demanded, with her hands on her hips. He looked up throwing his blue eyes wide at her for sympathy.

"Baa-chan! I'm hurt and recovering! I went through quite an ordeal!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I've been healing people for almost … well awhile. I know when someone is well, and you done playing around. That damn cat is loose again and I need you to go find it!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "If I see that beast again I will skin it. Sent konoharmaru to find it."

"I can't! once word of the cat got out all the gennin teams and their jounin vanished. Even ANBU can't find the lazy brats!"

"AHAHAHA!" Naruto was laughing at that. "You're calling others lazy!" In his mirth he didn't see the fifth rolling up her sleeves and walk over to him.

-

Naruto moaned and tried to scratch his leg, but couldn't get past the damn cast. He was back home finally. Back to his room, back to his mother, back to tasteless, stomach wrenching food.

"Oh stop your moaning Naruto." His mother said absently eating her meal.

"She broke my leg! Baa-chan broke my leg!"

"You shouldn't have pushed her!"

"All I did was say she was lazy!"

"Well perhaps she decided that if you were gonna be in the hospital it might as well be for a reason!"

"You didn't have your leg broken!" he snapped.

"If you want we can arrange to have that clever mouth broken as well." His mother said sweetly, but with a glint her in eye. Naruto wisely changed the subject.

"So when is the ceremony?" He asked.

"What ceremony?"

"My jounin advancement ceremony."

"Oh that. We already had it, but you were playing sick in the hospital so couldn't attend, it was really good food however. We had nine different kinds of ramen prepared for you. Some chubby kid named Chouji ate it so it wouldn't go to waste." She took another bite of some black looking meat.

"What?! How can you have a ceremony without the guest of honor?"

"Easily, we skip the speeches and awards and gifts and go straight to the drinking and food." Naruto face-faulted.

"okaa-san…"

"Finish your food."

The next day Naruto had the cast taken off sue to his increased healing. He went searching for Na'omi. The fellow Jinkuurki seemed to know a great deal about the bijuu's and he needed to find out some things. He found her at the Inn. Sadly she was taking a batch when she told him to enter. She stood up letting him see every tantalizing part of her, before he remembered himself and looked away.

"Umm Na'omi-sama. I was wondering if you could tell me more about the bijuu's and being a Jinkuurki." Na'omi found it fascinatingly endearing how the young man was fighting with his urges. She had never been rejected before and after that morning in the forest, she was determined to have him, girl-friend or not.

"Certainly Naruto-kun." She purred. She saw him fidget at the endearing name she called him. 'So cute!' "Let's go for a walk to talk about it." He turned back to her and bushed, adverting his eyes.

"Don't you think you should put some clothes on before you go out?"

"You can't look at me then, so what would be the fun in that?"

"Na'omi-sama!" he exclaimed. She sighed and went to put on her cloths, doing a quick jutsu to braid her hair up.

"Ok, relax sunshine." She dropped into their pet-names. "let's go someplace sunny and open. I've been in a swamp for five years. I've grown a little fond of the woodland and fields this village has."

So that's how Naruto found himself under the tree of his usual training ground next to Na'omi as she told him about the bijuus' and their powers. His had gotten all his clothes mended and repaired and he was back to his new shining glory, he felt pleased that Na'omi liked to see him like this.

"So let me get this straight. The Bijuu chakra has a kind of memory on its own and can perform techniques on its own if I practice with it?" He repeated what she just told him.

"Yes, but I don't recommend it. The chakra can have painful effects on the body, aging it or worse the more you use heavy doses of it. A body as strong as yours sunshine can only handle about two tails with little to no side-effects besides pain. It you go to three or more tails, even if you can control the chakra, without the bijuu taking over, it will harm you greatly. Only use it in the most extreme circumstances."

"But you look so young and have been a Jinkuurki for a long time." He said.

"That's because I have very rarely gone more than two tails and can control my thoughts up to six. In fact I think I have only gone beyond two tails maybe seven times."

"Whoa! I've already gone three and four tails like five times."

"That's due to your poor skills and temperament."

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"Don't get upset over the truth. In reality no shinobi but the most powerful should ever require more than one tail. And if you are properly trained, you should be able to rival even the most legendary of ninja in power and chakra, if not in skills. There are few reasons to go three or more."

"You said you can control up to six tails. What happened to make you go that far?" He felt bad after asking that, he could see that she was very sad thinking about it.

"I was once part of the lightning country years and years ago. I was the first Jinkuurki of the eight tails. Your first Hokage had control of most of them and to balance power he gave the strongest countries the bijuu to enslave as a peace offering. I was finally chosen as a child at the same age that you were. My life growing up was very similar to yours. People were afraid of me and hated me for what I was. I did my best however and dealt with the label they placed on me and I finally found a man who didn't care what I was but who I was." She leaned back and Naruto took her hand in comfort, unaware they were being watched from afar. Na'omi continued her story.

"We had a beautiful daughter together named Amaya. She was my future my past and my redemption I was twenty at the time; a jounin of the Lighting country as was my husband. The village however grew very fearful of Amaya, They thought that a monster's babies would be a monster as well, but uncontrolled. So the leaders sent me on a mission far away and left my husband and her alone. They came in the night, I was far away, but I felt something was wrong and hurried back abandoning the mission, I was still days away however. When I arrived I was too late. The house was burned and my family with it." Na'omi said this coldly, as if the emotions of that day were dead within her. "I immediately retaliated of course. I made my way to the Raikage intending to kill him. He was too strong however for me normally and in my anger and grief I allowed six tails to come out. I was a monster. The destruction and death I rained on the village that day killed many people, families and children included. Finally the Raikage forced me to flee after a long battle. I wandered for a long time dodging the hunter nin that came after me. There was an alert and reward in all countries posted for my death. No place was safe, even you're Konoha."

"I eventually changed my appearance to what you see now and went into isolation to train, moving from place to place learning more about what I was and the thing inside me, and what I was capable of. I just watched as an outside spectator as the world changed little by little, but not enough. There were other Jinkuurki created that died and then created again. Wars still broke out and my kind was still persecuted, but used as weapons. I wanted nothing to do with anyone, just to be alone with my thoughts of Amaya. Sadly that couldn't be. Akatsuki formed and they started to follow me and pursue me where they could, particularly one Orochimaru." Naruto's eyes tightened at that name." He was strong enough to wrestle two of my swords away from me. Two of the parts to Kusanagi. He could have captured me then, but for some reason he defied his organization and let me live and told me where I could go to hide. In a hide-out he had made in the swamp country. The place suited my mood and there I stayed for almost sis years, until our friend Sasuke and his merry band came to capture me. They…were not up to the task to say the least. And that's how I found myself here. With my lovely sunshine." She purred and traced his jaw line with her finger, till he turned his head away and scooted back. Naruto couldn't forget her words however.

"Do you think that will happen to me? If I start a family will the village kill them?" Naruto for the first time was actually worried about his future.

"I think it is a different situation Naruto. I've heard people talk about you in the village and while not greatly admired at least you are respected and most people seem to believe your good nature. I think you have nothing to fear from your village sweet ling."

"You tease me too much." He said tartly.

"Oh but just looking at you is a tease to me when I can't have you." She breathed.

"Please!"

"Fine, fine! Whatever!" She waved her hands in disgust. "So back on track after the trip down memory lane, you can have the bijuu chakra memorize techniques and with just a push of will the chakra and pull the jutsu off.

"So say with my Rasengan. I can have the tails perform the jutsu as well as myself?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No." Na'omi sighed. "All it means is that when using the nine-tails chakra you don't have to form seals or mold the chakra yourself. The chakra itself will remember and with your thought do it. It can no more focus on five different things than you can. You can't have four tails flying through the air each with that monstrous jutsu of yours destroying whole cities. That just isn't possible." Naruto frowned, really hoping he could do that.

They spend an hour talking about the history of the bijuu and Jinkuurki in general, Naruto learning about the Kyuubi's birth that was similar to the Yamoto no Orochi. A warrior city full of heartless killers who gave in to their evil and malice and made a weapon that tried to hold that evil in, but escaped to form the Kyuubi killing the city in the process. When talking to the Kyuubi about the tale he discovered that Each bijuu has a weapon associated with it. For the kyuubi it was a kama or rather a pair of kamas after the split of the weapon at the birth. Naruto made a mental note to one day look into getting those weapons from the demon-fox. The day winded down and they went their separate ways. Na'omi giving an annoying pinch of his rear with a wink good-bye.

Naruto stopped by the ramen stand for some decent food before he got home to the hell that was his mother's cooking. For some reason the old man refused to serve him and closed up shop. Greatly confused and hurt he headed come. He was about three blocks from his house when suddenly Lee appeared and charged into him, carrying him in the opposite direction.

"Ah! Lee! What the hell! Stop!" Naruto struggled.

"I can not do that Naruto, I must save you! They plan to quickly end the fiery and youthful spirit that burns brightly within you!"

"Lee! Stop! What are you talking about?" Naruto planted his feet and applied some chakra bringing the speeding taijutsu user to a screeching halt.

"Nejii, his uncle, Sakura, Ino, Shino and Kiba are at your home. They diverted your mother away somehow and they are lying in wait for you my friend! You can not go home." Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"Why? What did I do?" Lee frowned and looked at him in disappointment.

"You are my friend Naruto so I do not wish you hurt, which is why I have aided you. But this is the end of our friendship and as far as I will go. Hinata is my friend to and you have broken her heart. Good luck Naruto." With that Lee took off through the roof-tops.

"Lee! Wait! Lee!" Naruto called out, but the spandex clad youth ignored him. "What the hell is he talking about Naruto wondered. How did he break Hinata's heart? Naruto grew very troubled. He loved Hinata, he knew he did, he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. There must be some mistake. He had to go home. He wasn't however going to go himself to kill beat up or possibly killed. He ducked into a corner and made two shadow clones. He sent them off to his house. Then he turned his coat inside out and unfolded his head protector into a bandana again looking like a mini Ibiki of sorts and walked away towards the waterfall that was his and Hinata's place to think. Maybe he would find her there and get to the bottom of this.

He was almost to the waterfall when both his clones go dispelled from a combined assault of the two Hyuuga Sakura and Kiba. He knew then that going hope wasn't an option at all. When he arrived at the top of the waterfall, Hinata wasn't there. He sighed and sat down on a rock. What was he supposed to do when he didn't know what was wrong.

-

--

-

Na'omi was at the door to the inn she was staying in after her talk with Naruto. The boy was insufferably resilient to her advances for some reason. Naruto was for all intents and purposes an adult, if he would be sent on 'S' Class missions solo. In age he was on the crux of adult-hood. She was little troubled by the rumor mill that would start once she finally tricked him into an affair. It couldn't last she knew since having two of the bijuu so close to one another for so long would be dangerous. Sooner or later something would happen that would force their bijuu forms out and they would lose control and fight. Still a little liaison to settle the urges that her bijuu called on them both would be very sweet in deed.

Naruto was charming in a naive way, she planned to teach him a great deal. She was idly thinking these thoughts with a dreamy little smile on her face when she noticed her path to the inn was blocked. She blinked and looked at the figure in front of her with a tilted head. It was a cute young woman with short dark hair and silver eyes. Eyes lines with the remnants of tears. An angry desperate set of her mouth alerted Na'omi to be wary as this girl was desperate and on the edge of reason. Desperate women no matter the age could be troublesome.

"Can I help you?" Na'omi asked calm and kindly.

"You can't have him!" The girl snarled causing Na'omi to take a step back with the girl followed with one of her own.

"Pardon me? What are you talking about?" A small crowd started to gather to watch the confrontation.

"Naruto is mine. Stay away from him!" The girl almost screamed her breathing heavy as tears started to come anew in those wild eyes. It clicked then for Na'omi. Hyuuga Hinata. The girl-friend of her current little project. 'Oh dear.' She thought mildly. 'Sooner than I expected this to happen.'

"You must be his little Hinata he told me about."

"Yes! His Hinata! I saw you two, under the tree! I saw him touching you!" The crowd gasped. "You can't have him!" Spittle flew from her enraged lips.

"Little girl, I can have your boy-friend any time I want. Naruto and I are one in the same. I understand him and his feelings better than you ever could. We are closer than the longest lovers, bound by fate for so long that it is beyond your girlish comprehension. Can't have him? Fool! He was mine the minute he set eyes on me." Hinata's eyes grew wide at the word and even more fearful, but Na'omi continued her relentless battering of the girls illusions.

"You are just a little girl and I am a woman. You can't give him, no…won't be able to give him what he needs. She moved in closed to the young woman and hissed out the final slap. "I however can give him what he wants, needs and desires. You are just his stepping stone."

Hinata gasped and shook, the eyes moved from defiant, to doubtful to crushed to desperate again. With a shriek She activated her Byakugan and lunged for Na'omi's heart. Na'omi however was ready and snatched at Hinata's wrist and twisted causing the girl to cry out in pain. Then with a shift of her weight she sent Hinata tumbling away. The crowed scattered and some went for help as the fight broke out between the two shinobi. Hinata stood up and went into her heavenly spin and darted at Na'omi. She however had seen the girls move during her secret observation of Naruto and knew what to expect. She drew on her Bijuu Chakra and created a small shield in front of her. Hinata slammed into it and rocked back dazed and confused from the encounter with the wall. Na'omi was indeed pushed back from the force and shook her hand as the move almost broke her wrist. 'Impressive power' she thought. She looked calmly at Hinata with an amused expression.

"Please stop. I will not and have not attacked you." Hinata went into a rage and threw several uncontrolled jabs at the eight tails container. All of which Na'omi just dodged by stepping back. She knew ANBU would be here soon and she didn't want to cause a controversy for laying hands on the daughter heir of a powerful clan. Hinata tripped when she threw an off balance kick, or tried to and sprawled on the floor. Na'omi smirked and offered her hand to the young girl.

"Done yet? Here let me help you up." She snatched her hand back quickly when Hinata looked up with clenched teeth and drew a kunai. 'She is serious." Na'omi thought. 'Perhaps I pushed her a little too far. Her ego seems pretty fragile.' Her thoughts started to spiral as Hinata made several lunges, sobbing the entire time. 'Naruto is going to be pretty pissed about this. It might set things back. Maybe I can spin it to the girl throwing accusations at him to shift the blame. He won't be happy one bit that I caused trouble in his relationship.' Finally a Pair of ANBU arrived. Na'omi knew they watched for a moment and saw her backing away from the attacking Hinata with her hands held out in protest. The two seized the girl who started to struggle.

"Na'omi-sama. Please explain the actions here." One of the masked elites said.

"The young girl had some notion in her mind that her boy-friend was cheating on her with me, so attacked me. I tried to calm her down and did not strike back, although I could have at any time. I only defended myself. You are free to ask the populous who watched." She explained. The two nins spoke softly to one another and one of them walked over to some of the villagers who were standing far away from the confrontation and began asking them questions. The other held onto Hinata and disarmed her. "Hyuuga Hinata. Explain what happened here. Why are you armed and attacking a protected visitor of the Hokage?" Hinata just continued to struggle and snapped at the masked man crying the whole time.

"She is a harlot! She can't have him! She can't! He's mine!" Something seemed to snap in the poor girl and she slumped in the ANBUS surprised arms crying softly instead of raving. Na'omi bit her lip. She really messed up. She didn't know the girl's ego was so weak. Naruto just might attack her when he found out. Mess with him all you want, but she learned earlier today that if you say something bad about his Hinata then he flies off the edge. She took a step towards Hinata to try and fix the situation somewhat.

"Hinata-san. I'm sorry I said those words to you! They weren't true! I was just angry at your accusations. There is nothing but friendship between me and Naruto, he is faithful to you." The girl just stared blankly at the ground. Na'omi started to get worried. "Hinata-san?" She reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Nothing, no reaction just a blank stare and tears. 'Shit.' The ANBU looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Na'omi-sama. We will take the girl home to recover. Are you injured?" She shook her head. "Then please do your best to stay away from Hyuuga Hinata in the future. If she comes to you please retreat and seek aid from a shinobi of the village who will diffuse the situation. We will issue an alert that the two of you are not to be near each other until the situation is resolved." Na'omi impatiently nodded as she thought franticly of what she would say to Naruto. The Other ANBU confirmed Na'omi's story and the two left with the young women in tow. Na'omi went up to her room and gathered her belongings and paid the bill at the Inn then she henged into someone else and went in search of another Inn, with a bathhouse of course. She would avoid Naruto for the time being till she could judge how he would react.

-

--

-

Hanabi didn't know what to do. Earlier Hinata came home crying and absolutely hysterical. Hey father sat down with her sister and talked to her for a few minutes then left, probably, the most furious Hanabi had ever see her father before and Nejii after speaking to him soon followed. They looked like they were going to war; Then Hinata disappeared only to be brought back home by some ANBU members. She tried to talk to her sister, but all she did was rock back and forth and stare at a wall. A couple hours later her father and cousin returned home, not unhappy. She learned they were looking for someone and catch whoever, she heard them muttering about some lying, flying, dead man, but that was about it.

"Father..." She said.

"What is it Hanabi?" He snapped back making her unsure of this.

"Something is wrong with Hinata." Her father peered at her for a second. "She doesn't look well she just keep staring at the wall like a zombie and didn't even know I was there." Her father looked grave and got up to go see her sister and ordered Hanabi out on some errands to get her out of the house for a bit.

She sighed and hoped her sister was ok, even though she didn't have much talent.

-

--

-

Naruto was panting and flat out exhausted. 'Damn Nejii is fast!' he thought. He forgot that the Hyuuga bloodline could see all around them, he pretty much knew Nejii's distance for site but he hadn't known that Hiashi Hyuuga could see over twice as fat as his nephew. The little lynch mob soon came after Naruto as he was thinking on his rock at the waterfall. He had to wind walk to get away and about killed himself when he missed some steps and almost plummeted to the ground. With a good hedge and a multitude of shadow clones he was able to lose the group in the crowed village streets.

From what they were yelling at him about he had an idea what the problem was. Well when Sakura calling him a cheating lying piece of filth, it sealed it. They should he was cheating on Hinata. When Kiba talked about an older woman the pieces fell together and he figured that Hinata saw him and Na'omi under the tree together and jumped to conclusions. As far as Na'omi was concerned he would put an end to all her flirting and advances. He didn't know what to do about Hinata. It was his fault, he held the woman's hand and let her touch his cheek and didn't stop the pet names. Of course Hinata would think the wrong thing. He thought of how hurt she would be and his worry increased.

He figured he would see Na'omi first and enlist her aid in assuring Hinata that nothing was going on between them, even if the woman didn't want to, he would find a way. Na'omi had checked out of the inn however. The inn-keeper told him of the confrontation and ANBU taking Hinata away and he was crushed. He had to get to Hinata and explain everything, the only problem was getting past the Hyuuga compound alive.

He didn't want his mother to know about this. Just talking to her about anything even revolving around the idea of sex sent him into hysterics so she was out of the picture, plus he would have to go back home, where god knows what army and traps awaiting his pleasure. There was only one place he could go he decided…Baa'chan. She always knew what to do.

-

Tsunade was going over the mission report that Shino's team had submitted when they returned this morning from the mission to help the fire temple reconstruction. It was dull, but she had to do it or it would waste her whole weekend. She was sipping her sake when she thought she heard something by the window. Looking over she didn't see anything and shrugged. A second later she heard a slight 'psst'. Come from the window. She looked over at the empty pane annoyed and marched over looking outside. She saw Naruto in some silly disguise looking around like someone was hunting him.

"Naruto! What on earth are you doing?" She said. Naruto franticly waved his hands for her to quiet down.

"Shhhh! Someone might hear you and they will know where I'm at." Tsunade looked at him blankly and moved aside for him to come in.

"This is about Hinata I assume?" he looked surprised. "Anything involving ANBU is reported to me within 20 minutes. 20 seconds if it's an emergency. I heard she accused your new friend of stealing you away and attacked her." Naruto winced as he sat down and looked dejected, like all the world was falling down on him. Tsunade felt a pang of sympathy for the boy's plight.

"Yeah that's what I heard to! But I haven't been able to find out exactly what is going on. All our friends and her father attacked me and have been hunting me for hours. There is no way I can get into the Hyuuga compound to see Hinata and I have to talk to her to know what happened and to fix things."

"Well you know what needs to be done, why are you bothering me with this?"

"Baa-chan!" he looked stricken.

"What?"

"This is serious! Don't you remember how little confidence Hinata used to have in herself! Before I left on the mission she told me she loved me! I'm really worried about her!" Naruto pleaded with the fifth.

Tsunade sat back and thought it over, reluctantly agreeing with the new and young jounin.

"Your right, this could have an adverse affect on her performance, she has been doing so well since I fixed the two of you up."

"What?" Naruto went dead-pan.

"Oh nothing." she replied hastily.

"Don't nothing, me you old bag, and don't look angry over that, if what you said is true I have every right to call you that! What did you mean fixed us up together?"

"Oh all right! It was simple really, you were so depressed over Jiriya, Hinata was depressed over seeing you depressed, she had a crush on you for years since she first entered the academy, so I kept throwing the two of you together till you became a couple. I was about to sent the both of you out on a mission alone to some romantic resort to guard for a couple weeks, you were both so slow. Well Kakashi took steps and there you have it! You two love birds became a wonderful couple." She smiled at the young man.

"You didn't use any medic ninjutsu or anything like that?"

"Of course not! How can you even accuse me of such a thing?"

"Ok Ok im sorry." Naruto apologized. He sat back down looking at the floor. "Can you get me in to see Hinata alone? Away from her clan? It's the only way."

"I can't interfere with a private clan matter if it doesn't involve missions or the rest of the village or endanger anyone as a law."

"Oh come on! You can think of something can't you? "Tsunade looked over and him and rolled her eyes at his pleading expression.

"Ok fine. Go hide in the closet. I will send a message that I need to see her immediately, regarding what happened today, I will force her family away if they come." Naruto gave her a hug; she never got tired of those.

"Thank you!" He ran over and climbed into the closet. She called in one of the chunnin guards and sent him off with a message for Hinata, regardless of the circumstances. She had to wait about forty-five minutes, but she arrived with her father in tow and yelling.

"You can not hold her accountable for this! That woman pushed and assaulted Hinata and she responded as any training Hyuuga would!" Hiashi told the fifth. Tsunade quirked her eye.

"By attempting to injure or kill a woman who only defended herself and didn't strike back one?"

"A mental assault is every bit as dangerous as a physical one! You are a medic and are aware of this." Tsunade shrugged and opened up a drawer loudly removing a folder and slammed it shut. This was a signal for another chunnin to enter with a prearranged message.

"Godaime-sama." The man said. "Uzimaki has been spotted trying to infiltrate the Hyuuga compound, but has evaded attempts to restrain him, what should we do?"

"There he is!" Hiashi erupted. "Before anyone could say anything he ran out of the office back to the clan home. The chunnin left leaving just Tsunade, Hinata and a hidden Naruto. Tsunade came around and looked at the Hyuuga girl.

"Hinata?" The girl didn't respond or blink. "Tsunade had seen this before. A form of emotional trauma similar to shell shock that battle field ninja sometimes ended up with after large battles. He formed some chakra around her hand and reached behind to the base of the girls head and applied some chakra just…so. Hinata twitched a bit and looked around in a daze.

"G-Godaime-sama?" She asked. "H-How did I get here?" Tsunade put a hand on the girl's shoulders. ANBU and your father brought you here. I heard you made quite a scene at some Inn. Hinata looked down and started to cry. Tsunade saw Naruto come out of the closet and she waved him back for a moment.

"Hinata, I heard about what happened. I really think you came to the wrong conclusions. You should just talk to Naruto about this, I'm sure he will explain everything to you." Hinata shook her head violently.

"I-I-I cant!" She exclaimed.

"Well I'm not leaving either of you much choice in the matter. I can't have my favorite couple breaking up now can I. Besides Naruto is right behind you." Hinata twirled around. Her tear filled eyes wide in horror and hurt. She tried to flee, but Tsunade Grabbed her and held her firm.

"Hinata! You WILL work this out with Naruto! Don't go against me on this!" She let the girl go as she stopped to struggle, but Hinata refused to look at Naruto, her fists were clenched at her sides.

"I'll leave the two of you alone for awhile. No one will bother you here, I'm going home for the day." She told Naruto, with one last pat to Hinata she left the office and closed the door, sending any listening guards and ANBU away.

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto began and took a step towards her, but Hinata shook her head again and backed away, refusing to look at him. he took a breath and removed his coat and head guard laying them on a chair. He was wearing a black tee shirt that Hinata had given him a couple of weeks ago that had a leaf symbol in orange on the back.

"Hinata-chan! What happened! Please tell me! I don't know what's wrong, I can't fix what I don't know is broken." Hinata sniffed and babbled it out.

"You-you-you don't love me! You-You lied to me! You broke your nindo! I saw you two at the tree!"

"Hinata! We are just friends and we were talking!"

"LIAR!" She screamed and he blanched. Hinata NEVER screamed, especially at him. She was really hurt and upset. "I know you didn't' want me at the hospital! I heard that you asked for Godaime-same to send me on a mission just to get me away from you!"

Naruto didn't know what to say. He felt awful and like crying himself. He did do that and he knew now it was wrong. Hinata wasn't done however.

"I went on the mission and you said you would take me out when I got back! You-You weren't there! I couldn't find you, so I thought you were training like you always do, but you were there, you were alone with her1 I saw the way she touched you and you touched her! That's our tree! Where we talk!" Hinata fell to her knees he head on the floor crying.

"Hinata…oh Hinata! You have it all wrong!" Naruto flew to her side and knelt down and took her into his arms, She struggled and started to pound his chest and scratch at him.

"let me go! Let me go!" If the end of time came right then, Naruto would spit at it and beat it back to fix this. A thing like Hinata's fury wasn't going to budge him.

"Shhhhh… Shhhhhh." He held her until her energy was spent and he collapsed against him crying. He leaned down cheek against cheek as he spoke softly for her.

"Oh my Hinata. I was wrong, I'm so sorry. Your right treated you badly. Please believe me, Na'omi-sama and I are just friends!"

"b-but she said she could have you whenever she wanted! She said you wanted her and needed her!" Hinata hiccupped that out so cutely that Naruto loved her even more. Na'omi however, he was going to trash when he found out where the woman went.

"She thinks that because we are both Jinkuurki that we are destined for each other." Hinata started to cry again and he swiftly continued. "But she is wrong, destined for friendship maybe but not for anything more. That time under the tree I was trying to comfort her. She is a very scared and hurt woman, Whatever I went through she has been through ten times worse. She is just trying to hide her feelings when she starts to flirt. Hinata, please understand, me and Na'omi are … close and probably always will be, but the only one I want to share my life with is you Hinata!" He pulled away and tilted her head up. She looked at him with watery, but hopeful eyes.

"W-W-Why did you send me away!" She sniffed out the question,

"Because I was stupid! Please don't hate me you see…let me explain…umm…" Hinata waited for him to answer and just started at him, he had to tell her. He took a breath. "Hinata, when she saved my life out there, she did more than that. I didn't tell anyone this or add it to my report, so you can't tell anyone." Hinata gave a small not and listened raptly. "I killed Kisame, but there was another Akatsuki there. A woman named Karin. I was weak and couldn't fight back…she…she used her chakra to several my spine. She paralyzed me." Hinata gasped and started to cry.

"N-Naruto-"

"Shhhh let me finish." Naruto said. "That was it for me. I couldn't walk and was out of chakra and I knew Baa-chan couldn't heal that. I- for the first time in my life Hinata, I gave up. I really gave up. I felt helpless and resigned myself that it was over and I was going to die and Akatsuki would win. I thought that I doomed the village, that I failed my mother and father and everyone else that sacrificed themselves to protect me and to stop the Kyuubi. For that one moment I was in a dark place."

"Then Na'omi came. It was like some terrible angel, some dark savior, she sacred off Karin and somehow healed me that night with her bijuu powers. I didn't know what to think. Here was this beautiful woman, she saved my life, gave me back my legs and the will to fight. She was another Jinkuurki like me and she KNEW about the bijuus and their secrets and helped me so much. Then in the morning she…she threw herself at me Hinata. I-I almost gave in to it. I wanted it too much." Hinata's face fell. "But I didn't and during the whole fight back home, even with enemies all around she kept trying to tempt me in some way." Naruto paused and thought about his next words.

"At the hospital I felt very guilty. There you were at my side all the time caring me and loving me and I almost betrayed you. I thought about another woman. It was killing me to see you and feel this way. I needed to be away from both of you while I thought it out." Hinata started to turn away. "No! Don't do that" he turned her back to him. "Hinata I wasn't rethinking us. I was trying to think about why I felt this …attraction to Na'omi. I knew I loved you and do love you very much."

Hinata's head snapped up. "You-You still love me?" Her voice uplifting.

"Of course! What do I always tell you when we're alone?" He placed his lips close to her's and whispered. "You're my life, you keep my heart beating." He kissed her softly, tasting the salty tears on her lips. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her in close, she responded eagerly with a joyful sob of relief and her arms held his head crushing his mouth to hers. She kissed him as passionately as she ever had, abandoning all reservations. She unbuttoned her blouse and tugged at his shirt. He pulled away but she just pulled him back and stopped any protests with a kiss. She moved franticly for him. She took his hand and brought it up to the lace of her bra pressing his fingers against the soft, silken skin of her breast. Naruto tried to jerk away his hand, but she kept it there and moaned into his mouth.

Naruto finally broke away from the sexual onslaught. "Hinata...stop...we...can't... do this." He was breathing heavy and more aroused that he had ever been in his life. He looked at Hinata who looked hurt again.

"Don't you want me Naruto-kun?" She looked down timidly. Naruto gulped and licked his lips as his eyes wandered over her chest. She wore a very pretty white lace bra. He could see the soft gentle swell of the pale skin lightly trying to push out. Oh was she beautiful.

"Oh so bad it hurts Hinata, but it's wrong, we shouldn't." he protested as she crawled towards. He wanted to look away but found that he couldn't With Na'omi it was difficult but he could look somewhere else. With Hinata it was impossible.

"I love you Naruto. Love me to!" She begging, her eyes were asking for something so profound he wasn't sure he could give it to her. Their eyes just lock. She reached back and unsnapped her bra letting it fall to the floor. Naruto saw the perfection that was her flesh. His breath grew shallow and rapid when she took his hand. And guided it to her chest. Her next words threw all self control for him out the window. Her lips were barely touching his when they breathed out lightly. "Oh my Naruto…I need you." It was whispered so softly he almost didn't here. He wrapped his armed around her and led her to the floor. Neither thought about what they were doing in the Hokage's office.

-

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**A/N-**  
-Sorry but I had to get it out of the way. they had to move their relationship along and I couldn't think of any way that would push the timid girl to go that step besides fear or losing him and extreme emotional stress.

-Ive run into some writers block and am unsure of how to make the next couple of chapters and the directions to take them, so it may be a rather long update a couple of days minimum.

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	11. Chapter 11 Fall Tears of the Heavens

**A/N**

-This chapter is much shorter than in the past, but things are really going to speed up from here on out.  
- I was pleasently surprized that so many people liked the last chapter. I thought it was bad and just a weak filler. I'm glad I was wrong.

-I jsut wanted to say thank you to those who have given me such good reviews most notably

**ZortkiyatheTroll - Thank you for the support man. Your almost half of my reviews.**

**- On a side not PLEASE Review. I have many people who added the story to their favorites and alerts. I you like the story then please tell me what you like or don't like about it. Thanks**

Enjoy the latest chapter.

.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Fall Tears of the Heavens!**

Madara dismissed the village war council and walked though his tower, guards the shinobi under his command melted out of his way. He was in a foul mood it was said. Rumors were about that a large force of around 100 Cloud shinobi never made it back from their excursion into the Fire country. Whispers had started that it was an Omen that the coming invasion was a bad idea. Madara was working endlessly to stifle those thoughts. He got to the roof of the tower stripping his Kage robes to reveal the red cloud Akatsuki uniform. With no seals or any seen movement he was suddenly a mile away at one of his personal hideouts in the woods. Walking out to the wooded area He reached down and touched the ring at his finger and channeled a small amount of Chakra into it. He didn't have to wait long.

"You called Madara-sama." Zetsu spoke melting out of a tree in front of the ancient Uchiha

"Report on the Karin situation." The founder spoke.

"She is still undergoing healing and therapy at out outpost in the rice country. Her injuries while, non existent physically, are extensive mentally. Some jutsu was performed on her via the eight-tails that resembles the Tsukiyomi in severity of trauma. She will be some time in recovering."

"And Kisame? Was his ring recovered?"

"No Madara-sama, what was left of the body had a ring. We have performed a trace and have located it in Konoha. We believe either the nine or eight tails is in possession of it."

Madara felt his rage grow, but carefully masked it. He was showing his emotions far too much lately with all the set-backs and that needed to change. The mask tilted slightly as he thought of the next move.

"And Konan?"

"She says due to Kisame and Karin's failures in capturing the nine tails her plans have fallen through and she can no longer monitor Naruto. It will take some time to safely reestablish communications. She dares not let herself be known with the presence of Namikaze Kushina in the city."

"That is wise. Her talents can not be found anywhere else and we dare not risk losing her. Where is Pain?"

"He is at the mountain performing some technique. I have not been able to penetrate for enough in to investigate what he is doing." Zetsu said.

"He is becoming problematic, he believes himself my equal. When the plans are finished we shall have to be rid of him, he is make a bid for power that I can not allow."

"Will that be possible Madara-sama? None of us has been able to figure out who he really or the secret behind the Rin'negan."

"Leave that to the Leaf. They are resourceful and will exhaust themselves against him. You will monitor as always and learn what you can."

"What about the ring?"

"Leave that to me, I will have to take a hand in things." Madara said.

"Madara-sama!" Zetsu protested. "Is that wise? It breaks the path of shadows you have taken since the start of the goal."

"It can not be avoided now. We must have that ring and currently I am the only one who can retrieve safely. If I have to play my hand early, then it is just another set-back."

"I still have the old hide-out from my time training under the Shodai Hokage. I could possibly infiltrate the village that way and recovered the ring instead of you." Zetsu begged.

"I said no Zetsu. There is a risk you would be caught and that can not be allowed. I will go that is my final decision." Madara said asserting his authority and power.

"As you wish Madara-sama." Zetsu backed off.

"Continue to watch the members and to get Karin back up to strength. We will need her powers to find the two containers should they flee the village. Dismissed." Madara watched Zetsu fade back into the tree trunk and then turned away. Jumping to the tree tops and headed towards his Target: Konoha.

-

--

-

Naruto struggled up the steep slope, his legs were rubber, his mouth was parched, and his arms useless. His whole body shook as he lugged the bolder uphill. He fell to his knees and looked over at the man who was lounging in a chair under an umbrella. Iced wine at his side he presented a stern and implacable image of disapproval. Naruto's voice was a rasp of weariness.

"Hiashi-sama…How high is this hill again?"

"Six hundred feet to the top." The elder said in clipped tones.

"H-How far have we gotten so far?" his voice shook.

"Sixty feet." Hiashi replied. Naruto face faulted and turned and began to struggle against the overwhelming weight of the bolder behind him, tugging with all his might on the ropes. He looked over to the sweating half dead figure to his left.

"This…-_**pant**_-…is your…-_**pant**_-…fault." Naruto was not pleased with the girl. Hinata ground her teeth, but really wanted to weep she was so tired.

"I…ugh! Could hardly…ugh!..Do it by myself!" She dropped to her knees and glared at the blond next to her. "It takes two!" She snarled out. Naruto didn't reply, just faced forward and worked on his own boulder, ignoring her.

Oh yes things were fine that night. Their virginity lost to each other in blissful love. That was until Shizune and Tsunade walked into the office the next morning to see the two teens sleeping naked in each others arms. The gossips claimed it the biggest scandal the village had seen since the third had been caught peeping in the bathhouse with his student Jiriya. Tsunade was furious, not just playing mad, but really upset. The night Naruto and Hinata spent together was lost in hours of screaming and lectures' and beating. Naruto had lumps on his head that the Kyuubi was still healing hours later.

The Hyuuga clan it was safe to say had a collective conniption. Hinata's father tried to enact an ages old forgotten law for the execution of Naruto, but to the boys alarm and it seemed like he had persuaded most the council to go along with it, much to Tsunade's alarm. However Hinata declared that he would soon follow him and raised such a tantrum that her father stopped the issue, just to shut the girl up. So they came up with another solution. After ten feet of the boulders the couple tried to convince Hiashi to proceed with the execution. After twenty feet they begged. At thirty they tried to take matters into their own hands as Naruto went behind the boulder and let it roll back down over him. Unfortunately the earth was soft and he was a sturdy teen. It didn't do much except plant him in the soul mash his nose and sent both him and Hinata who were tied together back down to the bottom to start again.

His mother was to put it mildly a storm breaking over him. He was yelled at, demeaned, insulted, degraded, humiliated, beaten, and starved. Then she began again. He swore she used up all her good will points she had with him today. From now on she would have to work for the charity he gave her. He didn't tell her that of course. He did call Tsunade a wrinkled old has-been, which earned him no pay for the next ten missions and a three month ban from Ichariku's. The old bag was far too harsh over some little words.

"Maybe if the both of you should have thought more about continuing that appalling display this morning you would not be in this situation." Hiashi remarked with a smug little smirk on your face. Naruto opened his mouth to say something particularly nasty but was stopped by Hinata.

"Naruto-kun. You know I still love you. So don't take this badly when I say. Shut the hell up, you have caused enough damage." Naruto's eyes flared but then he backed down.

"As you say Hinata-chan." He replied submissively and focused on his boulder. He was still upset over his actions that had let the all the trouble yesterday, he couldn't really argue with his love, be upset with yes, but he couldn't argue.

"The good news 'children" Hiashi said sarcastically as he watched from under his shade. "Is that you both get to clean Godaime-Sama's home after this. Naruto's face with stark white and his eyes popped. Hinata say this out of the corner of her eye.

"Is that bad Naruto-kun?"

"Only as bad as cleaning a pig pen with a tooth-brush…" Hinata gulped at the description.

Naruto and Hinata had finally gotten through the, what they would forever come to term as, the 'Day of Woe'. The only good thing that resulted from all this was the fact since they had already consummated their relationship it seemed a pointless waste to the other adults to keep their eyes on the teens anymore, since they would just proceed in hiding and continuing their liaison. Hiashi however had already started to impress on Naruto the idea of marriage, even going so far as to present his mother with an arrangement contract. Hiashi was the next to feel his mother fury. Still the day was finally over and Naruto lay on a blanket with a pick net basket on the side. He was sitting behind Hinata with his arms wrapped around her as they watched the sun-set over their spot at the top of the water-fall. They giggled a lot like new lovers tend to do and in cheesy teen fashion they fed each other little morsels of food and kept repeating how much they loved each other. Naruto's hand kept wandering and her hand kept slapping him away. It was the picture perfect image of a young couple deliriously in love.

"Naruto…" Hinata spoke softly as they lay in each others arms after their second time of love-making.

"Yeah?"

"When you fought Kisame, were you scared?" She asked. She needed to know something, she just didn't know what, just that it was very important that she found out whatever that something was. Naruto didn't answer right away.

"Yeah…: he whispered.

"Do…Do you want to talk about it? She shifted her body to look at him, throwing her leg over his and running her hands up and down his back. Naruto bit his lip before telling the story.

"It was a crazy fight. I've always had so much Chakra over other people to make up for my lack of training. He had ten times the training I did and even more Chakra than me, so I was scared. It was strange fighting him. There were battles over the entire area. We each had legions of clones off fighting in other places. I have never faced a large amount of clones. I always just throw tons of shadow-clones at the enemy until they break. Kisame though stopped me from doing that with clones of his own…"

_**(flash-back)**_

_Naruto felt a patrolling clone he had dissipate to let him know the approach of two strong Shinobi, but couldn't tell who they were. Quickly formulating a place, He made a mass of clones. Around 300 to be precise and sent them out in clumps of 20 to the surrounding areas setting up traps and getting into positions in case there where more from the Sound nin camp besides the two that were coming._

_(Elsewhere after Naruto and Kisame had joined the battle.)_

_The platoons of Naruto converged en-mass to discuss the matter and how to aid the boss, too many clones however had too many ideas and they were getting no where when suddenly a multitude of water bullets pierced though about twenty of them and the rest scattered to the trees and air. The small army of Narutos looked over with wide eyes at a site they had never faced before. There across the line on the ground and in the tree tops were hundred of water clones of Kisame. They were stumped for the first time in Naruto's life. They had never faced someone who could make as many clones as the Boss could. _

_They didn't have much time to contemplate their actions as the horde of Kisame's charged the horde of Narutos Soon there were Jutsus flying all through the air changing the landscape. Water dragons were sliced in two, by the air slicing that Naruto learning in his training. Water bullets were countered by twice cored Rasengans and vice versa. Streams of fire were snuffed out by waves of water as the battle took to the land the trees and the air. Dozens of clones clustered up and cried __**"Futon: gale-storm Hurricane!"**__ large stretches of trees were torn the shreds and hurled as rocketing speeds toward enemy clones. Those responded with a similar jutsu._

"_**Suiton: Devils Dance!"**__ six small water sprouts erupted and literally danced in a weaving pattern that blocked the incoming foliage. It was a war that if any Shinobi could have witnessed would have fled. _

_To gain the upper hand, the hundred or so Naruto clones that were left split themselves into five each. They thought they had the battle one from the five to one odds. That illusion was soon dispelled as the water clones also split themselves evening out the numbers once again. The opposing forces roared and came together in a clash that shook the night sky. Furiously the Naruto force scattered trying to split up the water clones. As the pockets of clones battled throughout the area every now and then a thunderous explosion of wind would blast though the air as Rasen-Shurkin were quickly made and smashed into the ground before the technique itself dispelled the clone. It was last ditch efforts sued when a group of clone started to run low of chakra. Slowly somehow the Naruto clones started to gain the upper hand as when they were dispelled the other groups could tell what was going on in their surround areas and would head to where they were needed. _

_The coordinated efforts soon herded what was left of the Kisame clones into a central area. Some of them planned to use another Rasen-Shurkin to kill what was left. They were ready to do just that when several of the enemy clones got together and performed a multi technique. "Suiton: Dragon's Many Tears!" A huge water sprout shot into the air vanishing into the sky. Seconds before the Rasen-Shurkin slammed into the Kisame remnants. The Naruto clones thought they had won and prepared to go aid the boss in the main battle when it started to rain over them. The difference in this rain is that in was so sharp and fell so fast that when the fist sized droplets hit a clone it was dispelled. The mass quickly realized they had to get out from under the final attack, but it was too late. Where each drop hit the ground the splash shot back up and split into tiny saws of water that shot off in random directions. In seconds all the Naruto clones that were dispatched earlier in the night were destroyed. The move to gain dominance that Naruto counted on had failed._

_**(End flashback)**_

Hinata listened to his recalling of the titanic struggle. She thought something sounded wrong about the story.

"Naruto-kun…how did you catch him with your Futon-Rasen-Shurkin Jutsu if he saw your jutsu with his clones?" She asked. Naruto grinned a bit and reached up to tap her nose lightly.

"That is what I was so scared about. That was my ace in the hole and I thought the clones had used it too often and early and had ruined it for me. At least until I noticed something."

"What?" He used to crazy strong technique that caused twelve water dragons to come at me. During the clone battles I was able to counter that easily with a wind slice. So it didn't make sense that he would use something like that then. It was then that I understood."

"What did you understand?" She cuddled up to him more, enjoying the warmth of his skin against her own.

"Why the shadow-clone is a hidden and secret technique of the Fire country. The elemental clones of say fire earth and water don't give their knowledge to the original when they are dispelled. That is what makes Shadow-clones so strong." Hinata's eyes brightened in understanding.

"So you knew some of the things he would use and got hours of experience fighting him during your own fight!" Naruto nodded with affirmation.

"That's how I was able to beat him." He grinned, but it faded. "But it was still a close thing, Hinata. I got lucky, I should have died." He sighed. "I trained to hard. I put fit years of training into a few weeks and as it stands now the Akatsuki members that are left that we know of are stronger that Kisame. A lot stronger. Like that masked guy we fought in the forest. I think I know who he is, and if I'm right we are in trouble…I don't think I can beat him." Hinata frown and brushed away a strand of his hair.

"Who is he Naruto-kun?"

"Well that woman Karin mentioned a name…Madara. The kyuubi inside of me said that name once before to. That night as I slept I talked to it about the name. His full name is Uchiha Madara." Hinata gasped. "He was one of the founders of the leaf village very strong and somehow became immortal. Also …Hinata he SUMMONED the Nine-tails fox to destroy the village all those years ago. He can control the nine-tails completely and that means he might be able to control me. The nine tails is as much a part of my body now as my arm or leg. It can't be separated without killing me. There really is a good chance that if I see that guy again he could turn me against anyone close to if I used the red chakra or lose control of myself like I'm known to do and it comes out." Hinata frowned and shook her head.

"I don't believe that. Everything we have ever learned about mind control states that it is a battle of wills. No one can completely control something unless the said thing allows itself to be dominated." She quoted the text-book from her academy days. Naruto looked at her a moment"

"Thank you Hinata." He said simply and gave her a soft kiss. Hinata looked at him demurely.

"Let's forget about all of this. Focus on something else…" She blushed.

"What's that?" he grinned mischievously. She rolled onto her back, pulling him on top of her and nipped his neck before whispering huskily into his ear.

"Me…"he soon forgot about anything else but the woman under him.

-

--

-

It was early the next day and Madara was minutes from the Leaf Village. All thoughts of subtlety flew out of his head as he got closer and closer. Age old feelings of revenge and hate boiled up in him and he felt that he had to show the pathetic peace loving fools that they weren't as strong as they thought they were. Using the tracing Jutsu he could tell that the ring was somewhere in the center of the village. He figured he would just plow through and snatch it from the eight or nine tails, whichever one had it.

He saw the gates in front of him. He slowed it run to a purposely march. His Sharingan activated and the world took on a different view, almost like slow motion. He saw the gate guard stand up and point. The alarm was raised and he let himself smile. His fists clenched tightly at seeing the hated city. The gates tried to close to bar his way, but with a burst of speed he darted through them as they boomed closed. The two pathetic guards jumped at him, pulling out kunai. 'Were they serious?' He thought. He stood there and used his secret techniques to let them pass through him. He whirled as they fell behind him, His hands lashed out and a crimson smear lanced across the pavement, their backs sliced through, their lungs punctured. They died quickly.

He continued his match.

Two more Leaf Shinobi jumped onto the roofs and started to form seals painfully slow to his eyes. He smirked; 'Phoenix Tears jutsu against me?' His hands formed faster and he raised his arm, his little finger and forefinger spread wide. Two thin lines of blazing fire struck out at blinding speeds and struck the two attackers in the face, bowling them over out of sight. Madara laughed and sighed at the sounds of the two men holding their burning heads. He breathed in and relished the smell of burning flesh.

He continued his march.

Next up was a squad of ANBU. 'A challenge?' He thought. He saw one of them form some earth seals and he jumped up avoiding the first of earth that tried to grab him. A trio of kunai tried to take him in the air when he couldn't dodged, he let them phase through him. Forming some seals hidden in his robes he took a deep breath and blew. The force of wind was devastating. The ANBU squad tried to counter in some way but were blown away along with the rooftop they stood on. 'Guess not.'

He continued his match.

He actually passed a second at the pair heading to him right then. It was the …dumbest sight he had encountered in many years. They had ridiculously thick eyes brows and tight green spandex. 'Gai and Lee' He recalled from his report. 'Lets see how good they are.' The pair came at him, one high one low. Just to spite the nine-tails he formed a Rasengan in his right hand and some spinning fiery sphere in his left. He hopped into the air and flattened out his body dodge between the united attacks. He slapped the Rasengan into the younger taijutsu used. The ground was under him so he absorbed the full damage of the attack as he had no place for the concussion to fling his body. He punched the Katon-rasengan into the back of Gai so hard he might have ruptured the man's kidney. Both of them went down. Lee just laid on the ground needing serious medical attention. Gai' was struggling to roll around in his pain trying to put out the fires on his back. 'Lame' Madara thought.

He continued his march.

He was almost there. The leaf started to form a united defense and he wasn't going through them like paper anymore. Twelve ANBU formed up in front of him while twelve more came up at the sides. He reached up and shifted his mask slightly to reveal his other Sharingan. Opening the eyes wide he cried out. "AMERETSU!" A surge of black flamed erupted in the street. On and on it went wider and wider. Six of the twelve in front of him foolishly stayed to try and counter the flame with water techniques. They perished in quick agonizing screams. Stone cracked, Houses exploded and people melted. Finally he ended the black flames and shifted his mask again. Patches of the dark fire continued to burn however slowly spreading out. No one was in the area to put them out however, as if they could. The twelve élites behind him sent a wave of various techniques against him. One almost caught him before he phase shifted and they went right though him, but he made the motions of dodging anyway. He formed some more seals and spat out a landside of mud towards that that they tried to jump over. He had immediately followed that with a Katon: Grand Fireball, which caught the flowing earth river on fire and blasted two of the elites away. The rest fell into the river of flame and screamed jumping away again patting their clothes furiously to avoid burning to death. Madara quickly ducked into a shadow and used a special technique that moved him to another shadow or his choosing. The jutsu used only a flicker of chakra, making it very potent. He arrived three blocks down and stepped out into the light. She was waiting for him.

"Na'omi…"

"It's been a long time…Madara."

-

Naruto and Hinata were training at his private ground when the call came in for all hands on alert. Yamoto, Kakashi, Three ANBU and The Hokage charged down the patch to his field.

"Whats going on?" Hinata asked the blond next to get.

"I don't know. I think something is up, Baa-chan never runs." He replied. They walked toward the rushing group. Tsunade immediately took him by the arm and started to drag him away.

"Naruto, we have to put you into protective custody. We are moving you to a secret underground facility."

"Hey wait a moment! What's going on?" He asked snatching his arm away from the fifth.

"Akatsuki has broken through the gates and line of defense. The enemy is moving towards the center of the city, we have to assume he is going for you."

"What?! Then let me get over there and fight him!" Naruto didn't see Hinata shake her head slightly.

"No Naruto, whoever he is he is too much for you. It's the same enemy you faced in the forest looking for Sasuke. We are taking heavy casualties trying to stop him."

"Then that's why I have to go!" He exclaimed.

"No! We won't put you in such jeopardy. I will confront him; you will go with Kakashi and his team to guard you. Now come." She grabbed his arm and started to pull, but he wouldn't budge no matter the strength she applied. "Damnit Naruto!"

"Godaime-sama, do you remember my dream?" Tsunade hesitated.

"Of course, to be Hokage."

"Then do you think to be hokage that I can just stand by and use the village as a shield to keep me safe? I made a vow. No matter what, No matter whom, No matter when, and no matter why. My flesh before theirs, my blood to fall first, my life given freely. Every man, every woman, every child. Every rock, every tree, every leaf. I will stand before the village and lay it all bare. To protect them from pain, to spare them from blood, to keep them from harm." Naruto turned and started to walk towards the village turning back one last time to the stunned group. "And I NEVER go back on my word!" He went to meet Madara.

-

"And Sasuke couldn't take you down? I find that amusing. You're pretty weak for the eight-tails" Madara cackled, his voice riding the edge of insanity. Jagged spears of earth kept jutting up from the ground trying to impale him. He just twisted between them as he walked slowly towards the eight tales. He could see that she had on those accursed chakra scales over her eyes that would reflect any Dojutsu or sight attacking genjutsu back towards the user. He would have to break her power over them first if he was to get the ring.

"Give me the ring Na'omi. It's all I am here for." He started to form the seals.

"Never!" She spat and formed some seals of her own. Her eight braids shot into the air to form an arched canopy behind her. Each of the seals on the cloth started to slow and she whispered something. A weird distortion started to appear in the air between her and Madara.

"Oh I can't allow that Na'omi." He his worked faster than Kakashi to complete the seals so quickly. "Katon: Child's Whisper!" Nothing seemed to happen for a moment. Then all of a sudden Na'omi and twenty Chunnin that were relentlessly trying to get to the fighting pair started to scream clutching at their Chests and throat. Madara's eye took on that swirling gleam of narrowed evil as he stepped past the fading distortion of the interrupted sealing technique and over to the container that was on the ground clutching and clawing at her body. "That's a nifty little Jutsu of my own creation. It super heats the air and particles floating through it. Not only does it blister the skin, but if someone takes even a single breath it will scorch their throat and lungs." He began to go through her robes, pausing when he parted them open. "Not bad!" but he then ignored her and dipped into an inside pocket and pulled the ring that he needed. He stood up. And looked around merrily at the slowly dying leaf nin all around him. "This has been a good day!" he chirped and started to walk back to the gates of the city.

"Well it's about to get a whole lot worse!" he heard a chorus of voices yell above him. He looked up and grinned as twenty clones of the ever amusing Naruto came over the rooftops. A united yell of **"Futon: Gale-storm Hurricane"** rapidly dispelled and cooled the hot air technique so that the leaf Nins wouldn't die. Then they all charged in holding a Rasengan. 'Hmmm, maybe I will take a page from Jiriya's arsenal. Madara held out his hand and pushed a great deal of chakra into a massive swirling sphere of power. The startled clones had no choice put to meet their twenty rasengans against his one. The air around the conflict seemed to distort and warp and violent energies were wrench in every direction. The stalemate broke and with a push of his arm Madara broke their united assault and the clones vanished with a series of 'pops'. She yawned a bit, but then smiled as another twenty clones came barging with more Rasengans. These he met with a series of swift kicks and punches, not allowing any of the spheres to hit him. He surveyed the empty cratered and smoke filled street.

"HO NARUTO! THAT WAS A GOOD WORKOUT!" Madara in his 'Tobi' voice called out, he couldn't see where the container was but knew he was somewhere close. Naruto replied by doubling the wave of clones and sending them in a four pronged attack. Madara rolled his eyes, seeing them each carrying Rasengans again. He had to admit however that the multiple of white glows weaving through the air would have been very hypnotic were it not for his Sharingan. He didn't expect however the spheres to come flying from the hands at him at breakneck speed. "FUCK!" he barely twisted and warped himself into the Shadows of his cape half phasing and vanishing from the plane, he came out of it right after the barrage ended. He looked around to see the clones started to create more of those accursed projectiles. He reached into his cape and with several flicks of his wrist he ducked and twisted to face all three clusters of clones. A storm of shurikin flew from his hands to batter and dispel the blonds. He stood up and felt a pain in his side. He looked down to see a wet spot in his robes. Reaching down he brought his hand back up and stared…Blood. His blood. The kid actually hurt him. He hadn't felt the blow of an enemy in over sixty years. The kid grew since he had seen him over a month ago. He grew a great deal. Impressive, but futile.

"Ok kid, you want me to take the gloves off! Fine, I guess I will stick around to teach you the basics of being a shinobi."

"Oh? What's that? To wear silly masks?" Naruto smirked from the end of the street. Madara tilted his head slightly. His eye grew hooded even in the depth of the spiraled mask.

"Alloy me to introduce myself. You can call me…Tobi."

"That's funny." Naruto said and moved into attack position. "I've heard it was Madara. Uchiha Madara."

"Tsk Tsk. Karin has been talking I see." Naruto shrugged.

"That and 'It' filled me in on some information." Naruto snarled.

"Oh…why don't you bring it out of play for old time's sake? Make me sweat a bit. As it stands now kid you couldn't even touch me!"

"I don't think so, and that's not what you side is telling me." Naruto let a slow venomous smile grace his face. Madara smirked and waited. Naruto came with a sudden burst of speed. In seconds he created two clones on either side of him. **"Futon: Gale-storm Hurricane! Katon: Dragon's Tongue!"** The two clones threw the jutsu. The fire races towards Madara, who ducked under it easily. The kid was innovative however with the wind jutsu he smashed it and another one he created into the surrounding buildings Next to Madara. Naruto and his clones then threw a storm of Shurkin as well as they closed in. Suddenly they all jumped away to surround him forming those same seals. **"Futon: Gale-storm Hurricane!"** The three small violent Tornados picked up the debris and shurikens spinning them around in a torrential storm of cutting wood and metal and air. Madara couldn't just let that many objects pass through him so he simply shadow walked down the street.

Naruto and his clones landed on the roof tops overlooking the scene they had just caused. 'That had to have gotten the bastard.' He thought. As the dust started to settle he heard Madara call out to him. "Damn you!" He yelled out. The black cloaked figure just laughed at him. That did it. Naruto reached out and pulled out his gloves. Tucking them on. He charged. He formed a double twice-cored rasengan. He shot one right away at the waiting Madara and held the other one back for a closer shot. Suddenly Madara was right in from of him. 'So fast!" he barely had time to think before the wind was knocked out of him with a mountainous punch. He saw a couple flashes of metal and he screamed out in pain. He dropped to the ground, his feet no longer able to support him. Madara hamstrung him. "You…" Naruto spat out in blood.

Madara stooped down and picked up Naruto's bloodied face bringing it close to that annoying mask. "Kid. You can train in any way you want. For however long you need, and in the end no matter how strong you before or how much you learn, you will never defeat me. In the end when we come for you and the eight-tails, you will be taken just like all the others. With a modicum of effort and before dinner time." Naruto shivered at the words spoken. The voice was so…so...sinister. A flash of blue and white sent Madara tumbling along the ground screaming. Hinata in her perfect glory suddenly stood protective over the blond.

"You will fall here Akatsuki!" Hinata cried out. Behind her was Kakashi and the three ANBU. Madara stood up and dusted himself off. The Three ANBU each shot a fire dragon at him which he just let go through him as he finished cleaning himself odd. He looked up at the silver haired girl.

"A Hyuuga. Oh this will be a pleasure. And look Naruto! It's the same girl from the forest the other month. You know something Hyuuga." Madara said as he began to remove his mask. "I always hated your clan. Stuck up thinking their blood-line was worth something. Well let me tell you something Hyuuga." His voice changed and Naruto stood up, his chakra had healed his hamstrings. Naruto grew scared at the change in Madara.

"Hinata! Get out of here run!" he cried out, but she wasn't given the change. Madara removed his mask to reveal an old and weather worn face. His hair was pitch black and as spiky as Naruto's. His smile was a thing of death into as he locked those evil eyes on Hinata.

"THE UCHIA CLAN ONCE BROUGHT YOURS TO THE BRINK OF EXSTINCTION!" He suddenly appeared before the startled Hyuuga and jumped into the air. Naruto could see the change in the eyes, the sharingan, no the Mangekyou Sharingan…'no...Not that' Naruto thought. Using some chakra he leapt after Madara as fast as he could. He wasn't fast enough.

-

Hinata couldn't believe the Uchiha speed her yes told her that he didn't move he was just there. In front of her. He pinned her arms and jumped into the air. She was about to kick free when she met his eyes. The world as she knew it suddenly melted away. She found herself in pitch blackness. She couldn't even see her hand. Slowly it faded into a stone floor with a bed, then another then another and another. The beds multiplied beyond count and beyond the reach of her eyes.

"Where. Where am I?" She said looking around. A figure melted out of the darkness in front of her. It was the unmasked Akatsuki. She readied herself.

"You are in the world of Tsukiyomi. Here I control everything. Space, time, everything you will experience over the next 48 hours with will directed by me. Let us begin."

Hinata suddenly found herself chained to the bed. She could see every bed in the distance and beyond was occupied by…herself! She had been cloned! What was happening? She struggled to get free, but her arms and body refused to abbey her. She say the man comes towards her, his eyes glinting in the sudden red cast sky over them. Colors and space seemed to change and distort as he reached down and touched her. 'No!' She thought franticly.

"NOOOOOO!" She cried out. It was a cry she would repeat endlessly for a long time till her voice could no longer speak.

-

Naruto watched in Horror as Hinata in the blink of the eye, in one second suddenly threw her head back and shuddered, articulating a horrified scream and fell from the sky like a fallen angel. Her hair flutters in endless patterns as she fell. Naruto pulled the air under his feet and jumped off it with an air walk catching her in mid fall. A sudden sense behind him caused him to look behind him. A fist of water denser than rock slammed him to him. He fell with Hinata in his arms impacting in the ground. Blackness overcame him.

-

--

-

Sasuke walked through the halls of the Uchiha compound. Memories of his family hovering in front of his eyes. They had taken everything from him. His mother, his father...his brother. He looked up on the wall to see the primitive start of the hidden leaf village painted on one cracked crumbling wall. With a chocked cry of rage he slammed a chidori into the mural and rock exploded outward. He was breathing heavy and forced his emotions down as he had been taught. He felt another presence enter the spacious room.

"My, My Sasuke, aren't you in a temper?" Madara said stepping from the shadows. That was a useful trick that Sasuke wished he knew. Sasuke didn't say anything just looked at the man in the mask.

"Have you overcome Itachi's parting gift yet?"

"Yes." Was all he said.

"Good. I have just returned from a little excursion into Konoha. The eight-tails is there. Your friend Naruto has grown into quite a skilled shinobi, you could end up having trouble with him. Right now the village is on alert due to my little visit, so infiltration will be impossible. However in two weeks time it should be safe. I will have an agent named Konon contact you via your ring. She is a delightful woman, I'm sure the both of you will rarely even speak to one another. Similar social habits there. Be ready."

Sasuke nodded and turned back to his contemplation of the old Uchiha hideout. Madara studied him a moment before saying one last thing. "Sasuke…be patient the village will fall soon." He ignored the sharp glance of the kid. "Yes, yes you will be a part of it. If you want it can be you who kills those old decrepit advisors." Sasuke let a little smile quirk his slips.

'Indeed he thought." Sasuke looked the hole where the village used to be. 'The village will feel the pain they caused me.' He vanished in a swirl of leaves leaving Madara alone.

"Jeeze." Madara said to no one in particular. "So hasty." He laughed and started to whistle a tune as he used his powers to return to the Mizukage tower. "I love it!" He put on his robes and descended the steps thinking about his lovely time with the Hyuuga girl an hour earlier.

-

--

-

Light slowly and painfully came to Naruto's caked eyes. His entire body hurt even his toenails. He tried to focus past the pain the see where he was, but there was something covering his eyes. He tried to move his arm up to remove whatever was blocking his vision but his arm was bound in some way. His entire body was it seemed. He strained with his ears as a solution. He could hear the beeping on a monitor and the soft whispers of several people close to him. He then felt some something warm and heavy on his lap. He tried to sit up, but the pain caused him to Groan. The whispering stopped abruptly and the weight lifted suddenly.

"Naruto!" He could tell it was his mother's voice. "Oh thank god you're awake! I was so worried!" He tried to move again, but the pain was too much.

"Don't try to move Naruto." He heard Sakura say. "You have extensive damage all over your body. Almost every major bone is broken. It is going to take some time to heal.

"My...eyes." he asked softly too weak to raise his voice.

"There were shards of rock embedded in them. Tsunade-sama spent days removing them and they are still healing. We had to cover them up so they could heal right." Sakura said compassionately. He felt her take his hand and his mother the other.

"Days. How…" he licked his lips. "How long have I been out?" There was a hesitant silence.

"A week Naruto." His mother said. 'A week?" he thought in amazement. 'I've never been out for a week before.'

"The village?" he asked. A new voice entered the room. His baa-chan.

"It is safe Naruto. You saved a great many ninja with your actions. When you arrived to fight the intruder many of them were dying from super-heated air. You saved their lives. You were a hero that day Naruto." Tsunade told him. He could sense her come up beside him.

"You're going to be alright Naruto." He mother said in the kind voice that always comforted him. "It's going to take a few more days at your current recovery rate, but you will be ok." He was afraid to ask, but he had to, he just had to know.

"Hinata?" He held his breath and wanted to cry at the sudden silence that descended on the room. "Hinata?" he asked once again, praying to hear her voice. "Tell me!" His voice rose despite the pain in his throat. It was Tsunade who finally answered.

"We don't know Naruto. She was hit with some kind of genjutsu, we think similar to what Kakashi experienced years ago, but on a larger scale. Kakashi had some protection due to his sharingan and he has much more training that Hinata. Hinata was hit with something stronger and was far more vulnerable." She finished her prognosis.

"Will she be alright?" He asked desperately.

"We don't know Naruto. She is in a coma and her signs haven't changed." Tsunade responded. He could hear the slight crack in her voice, but couldn't care due to his own feelings. He had never felt like this before. When Ero-sennin died, he felt so sad he didn't want to move. This was different. He felt lost, like a piece of his was torn out. He didn't just want to move, he wanted to die. Just a few moments of this pain made him want to leave everything behind to get rid of it. He started to cry and the bandages covering his eyes grew wet. He felt his mothers hand on his cheek.

"She will get better my son." Kushina spoke to reassure him. She looked up to the group in the room, but no one else could summon the heart to support her. Tsunade was use a chakra link with the girl to try and draw her out of whatever nightmare held her in place, but couldn't maintain it from the horror she was witnessing. They didn't dare tell Naruto, they had discussed it and decided that the rage and anger would either kill him in his current state, or release the full Kyuubi state, which couldn't be allowed to happen. The truth of the matter was that Hinata may never wake up, and if she did she might never be sane again.

Naruto in the night called on his Kyuubi chakra to speed up the healing dramatically. He was told that doing this should shorten his life span, but he didn't care, he had to get better. Hinata needed him. To everyone's amazement and concern in two days he was good enough to be released. They removed the bandages from his body and eyes and took him out of the body supports. The first thing he did was head to the private ward that Hinata was in.

When he walked in he saw Hiashi, Nejii and Hanabi by her bedside. They looked up at him with as much grief in their eyes as his own. They move aside to allow him room by her bedside. They sat silently together, only the soft sound on the monitor in it repetitive beeps could be heard.

**Beep!**

'_It's my fault.'_

**Beep!**

'_I broke my nindo. I didn't protect her.'_

**Beep!**

'_Why did it have to be her? Why not me?'_

**Beep!**

'_Why does everything I love leave me?'_

**Beep!**

_A tear dropped._

**Beep!**

_He reached out and took her hand._

**Beep!**

**Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee……………………………**

The monitor flat-lined.

-

--

-

* * *

**A/N**

-I needed to use Madara as a measuring gadge so that Naruto could see just how strong he still was against Madara and Sasuke.

-The final fight against Madara will reveal some intense powers on all sides, this was just a little taste of the ancient power.

-Again please **REVIEW!**

* * *


	12. Chapter 12 The Hidden Room

**A/N  
****-- **First off I want to give a big thanks to** Agayek**, Who volunteered to beta my chapters. Just from looking at the changes he made to chapter 12 I can tell he is awesome and talented. Thank you for helping to make the story better Agayek.

--Enjoy

* * *

-

-

**Chapter 12**

**The Hidden Room**

The rain fell. Naruto stood outside looking up at the storm, the slashing of cool water running down his face. He closed his eyes and stepped out onto the turbulent waters of the waterfall. Step by step he walked to the edge and looked down, using his chakra to keep from going over the edge. 'Over the edge'. Funny term as he was on the brink, struggling against the last leap, both figuratively and literally.

_**(Flash back)**_

_The Monitor flat-lined._

_Naruto's head snapped up and he stared in horror. He stood up along with the Hyuuga family. Hinata's heart had stopped. _

"_Hinata!" He cried. "Don't do this to me!"_

_The Hyuuga family started to yell, Nejii ran out into the corridor to get help. Naruto kept petting Hinata's face whispering desperately to her. "Hinata, come back. We have so much to do together." "Hinata. Please don't leave me! Remember the rose!" and "Hinata, I can't do this without you, you make my heart beat. Remember? Come back love!"_

_He continued to whisper her name until Tsunade ran into the room with Sakura and Shizune and a half dozen nurses. Kakashi and his mother grabbed him and dragged him screaming and struggling from the room. "YOU SAID SHE WAS GOING TO BE OK! LIAR! LET ME GO!"_

_He was get from entering the room. He could hear the shouts of Tsunade ordering medications and techniques. Sakura kept running in and out of the room with things and pills and instruments. He sat numbly on a bench his head in his hands, he couldn't see or hear anything. All he could hear in a long continuous nightmare was the echoing doom of the relentless beep, the flat-line unending in his head._

_He got up and started to run, pushing past his mother who called out his name. He ran. He didn't know where he was running to he just ran. As he left the hospital it started to rain. A sudden and thunderous downpour that obscured all sight. He just ran as hard as he could. He couldn't form the chakra needed for speed and didn't even want to. He wanted to batter his body and wear himself out. His feet pounded on the wet pavement splashing through the fast growing flood. He didn't know how long he ran till he came to it. Their Place, Their First Date, Their First Dance, Their First Kiss. The Waterfall. _

_(End flashback)_

Naruto looked over the edge. It was a long drop. The waves reached above his knees as the rain continued to pour. It rushed over the edge with a deafening roar. It still couldn't drown out the endless tone. Far below, the falling water broke against the jagged rocks in a white swell and thick spray. His head slowly rose to see a glint of the moon peeking through the thunderclouds. The soft white light fell across his face. The numb shock showed plainly on his face. He twisted his body, his arms lifted. She made his heart beat was all that passed through his mind as he released his chakra.

The waters swelled and took him over the edge. His arms were open wide, embracing the end. A fallen angel, a collapsing sun. The wind and water whistled past as he fell.

"_N-Naruto-kun. W-Would you be my b-boyfriend?"_

"_Thank you Naruto-kun. You look great as well!"_

"_Naruto-kun?" "Yeah Hinata?" "Will you always be there for me?" – "Of course Hinata! That's my Nindo!"_

"_Naruto-kun…The flowers are lovely."_

"_NARUTO!" He turned back with a loving smile. "I love you too! Come back to me!"_

"_You keep my heart beating!"_

"_Naruto…I need you."_

Naruto walked through the damp sewers. The musky smell caused his nose to twitch. Closer and closer he came to the large cage, the steel bars starting to rust slightly. From within the darkness, eyes opened.

"_**Boy! What is this feeling boy?" **_The demonic voice tore through the confined space.

"Death," Naruto said absently and emotionlessly.

"_**I am not ready to die yet boy! Take my power! I will save you!"**_ A thick red substance began to leak from the cage and creep along the floor. It tried to envelope the blonde, but couldnot seem to touch him. Naruto utterly denied the Kyuubi his salvation.

"No."

"_**I can save her boy. It is within my power! Take it and live. You can save her, I can heal her!"**_ Naruto looked hopeful. Hesitantly the chakra started to inch forward.

"_Don't listen to him Naruto. His __word is no more trustworthy than he is__,"_ A disembodiedvoice said from his side. The Kyuubi started to snarl and say something to him, but Naruto just ignored it. Along the wall was a steel door. Normally, whenever he came here it was chained shut. Now the chain was broken and there was a blue glow surrounding a tall shadowed figure.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Come inside, it is abouttime we met," The voice turned and walked into the room. Naruto looked suspicious but stepped forward the sea of demonic chakra parting before him. The Kyuubi started speaking quickly now, but the blonde heard not a word as he entered the room. The light blinded him momentarily**, **soon fading into a small room**,** bare except for a table and two chairs. A figure stood within and he could see it clearly as the light faded. His breath caught.

"Hello, Naruto. It is good to finally meet you."

"Father…" The blond man nodded.

"Yes, it is I." He smiled gently and took a seat**, **motioningfor Naruto to do the same. Theyounger blonde numbly sat; staring in awe and confusion at his father, the greatest Shinobi to have ever lived.

"How?" Was all he could ask.

"This is just a part of me. A memory I placed in you during the sealing, to be released when I was needed," He said calmly from across the table.

"What time is that?"

"The moment of your death," He said sadly.

"So it worked? I'm dead?" Naruto smiled hopefully.

"I am very sad and disappointed that you look so happy at the idea Naruto, but no not yet, it is close though, and those feeling inside of you set me free. Free to help you."

"Help me what?" Naruto asked.

"To live of course!"

"But I don't want to! I am nothing without her! I don't want to live!" Naruto cried. The Yodaime looked at him seriously for a moment.

"I had not considered this moment to happen how it is. Please, tell me what happened and what the Demon meantwhen he mentioned saving her. I need to know everything," His father said. Naruto looked down and idly scratched at the wood top. He began his story. He told the formerHokageeverything, from his childhood and what it was like, to entering the Academy. He spoke of his team and his brother Sasuke. He talked about the chunnin exams and Orochimaru. He ranted about Akatsuki and his training with Jiriya. He bragged about Hinata and her smile, his kiss. He cried about her death. He spoke softly about his jump. The Yodaime listened silently throughout the tale his face impassive, but grave. As Naruto finished the tale he stayed silent for a moment before speaking.

"Naruto, I am sorry things turned out this way. I had hoped they would have seen you as a hero. Thatsaid**,** I am incredibly proud of the way you turned out. It would have been easy for you to hate rather than love. You have mademeprouderthanyouwill ever know," He smiled across the table. Naruto however didn't care and just stared dejectedly at the table. Here he was talking to his father for the first time and he just couldn't work up the will to care.

"First things first, you don't want to die Naruto."

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't. You are in a dark place right now, but there is a great deal to live for. I am relieved to hear your mother is alive and with you. That was my biggest worry when devising the seal. I was terrified with my death that she would be killed by my enemies. If she is with you Naruto, then you must live, for her**, **if not the village. You mother must have gone through hell to keep you safe and come back to you. Injury, poverty, starvation, and more, all for you**r **sake. When we learned that she was pregnant she was the very picture of life and serenity. Everyone who was around her was ecstatic, her glow infected everyone, and you completed her life in ways words can't describe. If she loses you now after so much pain, it would be very heartless and selfish of you. Think of your mother. I died and left her to protect her and the village. From your story so did Hinata. She protected you when you might have been killed or kidnapped. If anything follow your mother's example and life to protect her family and home. Train and get stronger."

Naruto started crying. "But how?! It hurts so much! I only got as strong as I did because of her!"

"No you didn't. You got stronger FOR her, to protect her and her family. Now everyone needs you more than ever."

"What do you mean?" The teen asked.

"Naruto you are about to learn everything here. You must pay attention. After this time my essence in you will fade. We will have a lot of time, several hours, for within this room time moves much slower. Maybe a second will have passed in the real world. After you know everything you will have make a choice, to save yourself or to die. You will learn it all," Naruto nodded.

"Tell me," he said. The Yodaime smiled and pulled a thick book out of thin air and set it aside for the moment and began his Tale.

"I was about twenty and a powerful jounin. I will brag a little and say that few ninja could have survived a meeting or fight with me. I had a pretty crack shot team that I was training, Kakashi, a girl named Rin and a kid named Uchiha Obito. Obito is where it began. He was a talented kid, very talented, but something kept interfering with his progress, he should have, by his age and training, activated his Sharingan long ago. His chakra was off, he couldn't use his eyes and sometimes he would fall into fits and pass out for no reason that anyone could tell. It was very disturbing so I sought to find out. I figured the key would be in hidden Uchiha lore. So that's where I began my search. I left for a couple months and began my trek across the various countries looking for old Uchiha knowledge. I finally uncovered one the Uchiha's first camps, where they began as a ninja clan. I found a vault that contained a wealth of information about their history and the Sharingan."

"The Sharingan began as a curse. There was a monk who trained under a creature named the Rikoudou. The father of Shinobi. Now the monk was skilled and worshiped the goddess Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun. The monk grew envious and tried to kill the Rikoudou and take his position to enforce the worship of the goddess in all countries. The Rikoudou defeated him easily and then spoke to Amaterasu and together they devised a punishment. They cursed the monk with eyes which would give him what he wanted. Power, but power at a cost. Forever would his offspring seek for the power he was granted. Ambition and death would be their legacy. Until one would come that could break the power of the curse and heal the forsaken clan. He would be marked by a sharingan birthmark at the base of his neck. The Uchiha, enjoying the power of their new eyes mastered them quickly and forever kept watch for the child that would break their power. They did not wish to he healed so to speak. It turned out that Obito was the one who could cure and break the power of the accursed eyes, for I saw the mark on the base of his neck.

"Eagerly I devoured the library until I found a pedestal with a set of eyes that were sealed. These were the eyes of the original Uchiha Madara, who was the one to unlock all three forms of the Sharingan."

"Three?" Naruto broke in. "I thought there were two!"

"No Naruto, there is a third level that the eyes could move to. I took the sealed eyes and a gem that was said to be needed if the savior was to break the curse. That gem would be my sorrow for Obito. None of the lore would say how he would break the curse, just that he would. So I gathered everything and headed back home. I gave the gem to Obito, but didn't tell him anything that I learned, only that when the time was right he would discover its secrets. He trusted me to my chagrin."

"Time passed and I soon pushed all thoughts of Uchiha lore into the back of my mind as war broke out with the Earth Country. It was the final battle. I had been assigned a mission to slow the Stone Village invasion so my team and I headed to the front. I separated from my team to deal with the invaded. Once there I used my knowledge and power not to slow, but to defeat them earning my infamy and ending the war in a swift blow. It was what would allow me to become Hokage. However Kakashi and Obito far off were fighting their own battle to save Rin. In the fight Obito died, but not before he gave one of his eyes to Kakashi."

"So that's how he got it!" Naruto said eagerly wrapped up in the story.

"Yes. Kakashi used a special Kunai that I gave him that allowed me to use my special jutsu the Hirashin to come to their aid. I saved him and Rin, but it was too late for Obito. We were never able to find his body in the land slide. I should have suspected something then. Naruto that gem I gave him was a lie. It held the spirit of Uchiha Madera in a seal. A way for him to come back if hewereto die, which he did, in battle against the 1st Hokage. It was a clever move. One day the savior would come into possession of the neck and he would return to consume the body and block the destruction of the curse in one blow. All he needed then were his original eyes, which I had."

"I was off on a solo mission when he finally tracked me down. Naruto his skills were outstanding. I thought no one could defeat me with the Hirashin, but I was wrong, he also had an affinity for space/time and had developed something similar to mine. If your story about your battle with him are true that he mastered a technique that I myself was could not complete. The battle was long for both of us**. **In the end, though, Iwas defeated.Fortunately, he could not kill me, nor gain the location of his eyes and I was able to escape, never to see him again. Until…" Minato set his face into a grim line.

"I saw him once more when the Kyuubi first appeared. I knew then that he had summoned the beast to force me to give him the eyes he needed. I refused however. In order to protect the eyes from falling into his hands I sealed the powers of the eyes into a young child only a few months old at that time. Uchiha Sasuke."

"SASUKE?" Naruto said with stunned eyes.

"Yes your friend. I sealed them unknowingly to his parents and family. Then a few days later I sealed the Kyuubi within you. That is where the story ends. It seems however from what you say that Madara knew of Sasuke. It is troubling how resourceful the man is."

"What is so special about his eyes? It seems like he gained most of his power back."

"Yes most but not all. He needs the third Sharingan under his control to unseal the final secret."

"What is that?"

"I do not know. I was never able to find out. I just know that it was absolutely imperative, worth any sacrifice that he not get his eyes once more. It seems that I failed however in that Sasuke has now joined forces with him. It is up to you now Naruto."

"How?"

"The nine tails is the key, my son. You must not fall into his hands. Whatever his plans are they involve all of the tailed beasts. You are imperative since you contain the king and strongest of the bijuus."

"So this is all about power," his father nodded.

"It always is," the ghost said.

"I was kinda hoping it would be about something else, but it was wishful thinking."

"Years ago Madara wanted to force all the other clans into submission with him as their ruler. I don't think his goal has changed," the Yodaime said.

"So what now? Hinata is still dead if I die they can never get the Kyuubi," Naruto said, looking back at the door.

"Not true. The beast would become a roaming spirit and Madara could summon it then and gain what he wants that mucheasier. The demon's soul is not yet fully merged with yours. I estimate from what I have seen so far that you could die safely in another ten years to take the beast into the grave with you. So now you must make the choice Naruto. Will you live**,** or will you let all those who sacrificed their lives die in vain."

"I don't have much a choice, do I? I will live," The blond sighed, clearly not fully committed,butaccepting.

"You give up too easily Naruto. Things are far from lost. Are you ready?"

"For what?" Naruto asked. His father just got an excited grin on his face.

"In addition to have been a skilled shinobi I also was one hell of a teacher!" he pushed the book towards Naruto and an oddly shaped kunai appeared on top of it.

"So Naruto. Are you ready?"

"Wow…do we have the time?"

"I told you that time moves slower here. This room is under my control." As he said this the room expanded to beyond view. "Now there is room for your Shadow clones…an excellent training method by the way… you won't gain fatigue in this room. We have about three hours here before it vanishes."

"Mother said I couldn't complete the Hirashin though." Naruto said, doubtfully looking at the Kunai.

"She is right… but I know a technique that will prevent him from using his version of the Hirashin no Jutsu. With this technique you can fight Madara on equal footing." Yodaime stood up and glared at his son. "Answernow Naruto. Are you ready?"

Naruto clenched his fist and thought of Hinata. _'Naruto…I love you.'_

He looked at the Yodaime, his father. "Yes." They began.

Naruto was falling too fast. He could feel the rocks rushing up underneath him. He calledon the Kyuubi's power and it flooded into him faster than ever before. A red shell billowedaround him as he hit the rocks. The shell shattered like glass and he fell beneath the crashing waves. He was dizzy and struggled to reachthesurface**.** The heavy force of the waterfall kept pushing him down, however, and he couldn't move. Panicking**, **he swallowed some water and started to choke, swallowing more. Black spots danced beforehis eyes and he started to black out.

He felt himself moving, somehow sensing the inky blackness moving around him. He felt something hit him, slightly forcing the darknessto recede. Again and again**, **the thing struck**, **slowly pulling him back from the void. Something struck him once more and he coughed up some water. Afteranother slap, and another cough, forced most of the water from his lungs. He heard something vague, but it was so faint he couldn't make it out. He felt something hard under him.

'Am I alive?' he thought. He opened his eyes a little to see a crying face over his. Green eyes…red hair…it was his mother. She was saying something but he couldn't make out her words. He had to tell her though; he had to let her know.

"I…I saw him." He wasn't even sure if he spoke, it was so soft and weak. "Father...I saw father" and then he passed out.

-

-

Kushina called out to Naruto as he ran off. She didn't go after him, though. She knew he couldn't stand being there; she wasn't able to be there either when Minato went to seal the nine-tails so she let him go. She sat there listening to the room in their bustle around the deal girl. 'Poor Naruto' she thought. Suddenly a shout for joy caused her to look up. A moment later Sakura ran out into the hall a joyous look on her face as she approached the Hyuuga family.

"She's alive! Thank god we got her back!" The hall erupted into cheers and Kushina let out a sigh of relief. Hinata's family tried to enter the room, but they were stopped at the door. They still needed to stabilize the girl and she would require absolute quiet and isolation for the next couple of days.

"There is more good news," Sakura said. "When her heart stopped it somehow broke the power of the jutsu. She opened her eyes." Sakura smiled and looked around the hall for someone. "She said Naruto's name. He should hear this." She looked around some more and faced Kushina. "Where is he, Namikaze-sama?"

Kushina smiled. "I will go get him. He will be very happy to hear this. Don't expect to keep him out of the room though, he will insist on seeing her." Sakura gave a sigh and nodded. Kushina went off to find her son. The rain was a pain in the ass, but she had a feeling she knew where he went and headed towards the waterfall. He always went there or to the face of the 4th. She was coming though the woods and saw him looking up at the sky. What the hell was he doing at the edge of the waterfall she briefly thought before she saw him turn and be swept over the edge by the churning water. Her heart stopped. 'Oh god, no! Please no." She rushed to the edge to see a red shell crash against the rocks below.

"Naruto!" She screamed and dived off the cliff into the water. She didn't know how long she swam. She rose to the top and formed a Quick jutsu diverting the waterfall in another direction and dove under. She saw him shortly, his body forcibly held to the bottom of the river. Her hands formed a string of seals. The water around Naruto formed into a fist and carried the body of her son to her. Her heart was beating so fast she didn't know if she could take it.

She burst through the surface and landed on the water running for shore. Naruto was so cold. Laying him down she found he wasn't breathing. Sobbing in hysterics and turned him on his side and started to pound his back. "Not you too! She heard a weak cough and some water bubbled out of his mouth. "Oh thank god!" She started to pound his back some more and like a damn bursting he started coughing violently. _So much water is coming out of his lungs_. She pulled him into her arms and lap and started laughing like a maniac. He was alright!

"You Idiot!" She screamed at him in tears. "You sweet poor idiot!" She saw him look at her.

"You're going to be alright sweetheart! You're going to be fine!" He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed his eyes. For one small second she panicked till she saw that he was still breathing. Gathering him into her arms she ran for the hospital.

-

Tsunade wanted to beat the blond to a pulp for the trouble he was always causing her. She was able to get him back on his feet in a day or so. When he heard the news that Hinata was alive it was like the dead rising from the grave. He ate better, healed faster and once out of bed he marched straightinto her room. Sakura and the nurses tried to stop him but he moved with such single minded purpose that he even forgot to open doors and just walked though them. It was as useless as trying to stop the sun from rising. After that, he never left her bedside. They told him that Hinata needed absolute silence and darkness so he gave her that. He took her hand and didn't move except to leave the room to eat and go to the bathroom. He didn't speak, or even whisper. The entire time he sat there holding her hand with a small smile on his face.

Tsunade was going over some reports on her medications when Naruto gasped. She looked up to see him looking at the hand he was holding. The palefingers were twitching. Quickly, she moved to the far side of the bed and watched the girl carefully. Her eyelids fluttered and slowly crackedopen. She was awake. Naruto was about to hug the girl before Tsunade's outstretched hand stopped him. He sat back down and waited. It took a minute or so, but her eyes opened fully and her breathing regulated.

"N-Naruto?" She asked.

"I'm right here, love. And I always will be. Right at your side." She looked over and gave him a wan smile, her eyes shining with love.

"I missed you." She replied, sounding very tired.

"I missed you to. In the words of 'Ichi Ichi Paradise', 'I was desolate without your touch'," he said gently stroking her cheek.

"You are…" she took some breaths. "such a tease." He gave a little laugh letting him self finally cry.

"Well I come from a long like of perverts. I figure I should start living up to their expectations," he told her. She squeezed his hand.

"Hinata," Tsunade said. "How do you feel?" Hinata looked over at her and her eyes grew very haunted and a shiver racked her body.

"Very weak and...and...violated," she closed her eyes against the memories.

"I know. We can help you with that," Tsunade said gently patting the girl's free hand. "Do you feel any pain anywhere? Any head-aches?"

"Just my butt," she blushed at her own words. She looked over at Naruto and in a decidedly un-Hinata-like way she smiled at him and whispered. "Would you kiss it and make it better?" Naruto was speechless. Tsunade barked out a loud laugh.

"Well it certainly seems you will be back on your feet in no time if you have a sense of humor, but try to show a little more decorum in public Hinata," The Sannin medic replied. The girl blushed, averting her eyes.

The following day Hinata was sitting up in her bed, so starved she was eating like Naruto. Both the blond and Tsunade tried to get her to talk about her experience, but the girl was adamant in refusing to utter a word about it. She was enjoying the time with her family and Naruto however. Naruto's passionate endurance in staying by her side fully fused him as a member of the family in her father's eyes and somehow for Hanabi as well.The girl had bonded with her sister finally the night that Hinata awoke and they had a long talk. Hinata told her all about Naruto and that sealed it for the young girl. He was the son of the 4th, he was strong, her father thought he was the second coming of the Yodaime and her sister was devoted to him. She had found an Idol and latched onto him, barely leaving his side. He tried to evade her, but she had a remarkable Byakugan for her age and within minutes she was quietly by his side to his never ending frustration.

He brought it up to Hinata the next day when she was going to be released.

"Naruto, she is very sheltered. My father is a good trainer, but she adores you. You could help her a lot. Just deal with her? …Please?" Naruto of course was the very essence of subservience to his love's every whim now. He eagerly agreed not even noticing how easily his mind had changed. With anyone else he would rage and argue. The others noted that and took advantage of it. Between Kushina, Tsunade and Sakura they bullied Hinata into giving Naruto some orders that would make their lives much easier. Naruto unhappy about the requests Hinata made of him, never the less agreed without a hint of protest. Hinata was very rich because of it with the bribes of coin and clothes she got out of it. Whatever had happened to her had destroyed her innocence and broke her out of hershell completely. Naruto was heart-broken at the sudden change in the girl. She seemed to be holding some mask for the public, playing the game she thought they wanted. Most seemed to accept the mask, but Naruto knew better.

It was the next day after Hinata's release that Naruto was called into a meeting with the Hokage, the First ANBU captain, Kakashi, Kushina and the advisors. They were discussing possible defenses of the village.

"Naruto," One of the advisors asked him. "The Organization is after you. We want you to take our advice and leave under guard to a protected place of safety in the mountains. There you will be kept safe until the crisis has passed and we have found out who this attacker is."

"That's easy," Naruto repliedglibly. "His name is Uchiha Madara." He shocked the room with the words.

"That's impossible." The other advisor said. "Madara died when I was a child. His body was carried through the streets and he was buried in traitors' shallows, during the early days of the village."

"It's true!" He argued his childish petulance showing.

"Naruto," Tsunade said leaning forward on the sofa. "Can you prove any of this?"

"Physical proof? No, but just go ask Hinata! She can tell you! He has the Sharingan. He used Ameratsu in the streets! Itachi is dead so it has to be him. Plus my father told me." Silence met the blonde's impossible statement. Kushina spoke up at this.

"What do you mean he told you?" She asked. Naruto took a breath and delved into his story about the room in his mind, the cage of the Kyuubi and his father being there. He told them about the lore and Madara being sealed into the gem and taking over Obito. He told them about the summoning of the Kyuubi to attack the village and the hidden powers of the Sharingan being granted to Sasuke. Many pieces seemed to click into place. The two advisors were silent during the re-telling, looking around the room with guarded eyes. As Naruto finished the old hags began to argue.

"All the more reason Naruto that you will be escorted to the facility, If Madara has returned and Sasuke has joined forces with him, you just stay hidden."

"No." Naruto denied them crossing his arms and getting into his 'try all you like, I wont listen to you' stance.

"You do not tell me 'no' young man! It is an order!" The old woman looked over at the first ANBU captain. "Take him to the facility; arrest him if you have to." The roomed looked shocked and the captain started to move towards an angry Naruto.

"You don't order me, you cranky old has-been!" Naruto yelled, to the offence of all in the room.

"Granny-Tsunade is the Hokage of the village and she commands me, not you. You're an advisor ,nothing more. So do what you do best**; **sit back, shut up and spout more bad advice that will ignored like always!" That cracked the proverbial nut. The room erupted into chaos. The advisors stood up and started yelling furiously at the boy. Kushina and Tsunade stood up and started to yell at them. Kakashi smacked the blond upside the head and the ANBU simply looked between the arguing groups and wisely chose to stay silent.

Tsunade finally broke the argument with a thunderous chakra clap. Everyone turned their attention to her as she directed her steely gaze at the two advisors.

"Out of respect I have always given the two of you a great deal of leeway. This ends now. Naruto is right. I command this village. Not you. You have no authority to direct what any ninja of this village does without my consent. Is that understood?" She directed the question to the first ANBU who nodded sharply.

"Now, onto the defense of the village. During Madara's attack we lost eight ANBU and twenty-two chunnin. This is a serious blow. We need to come up with a way to stop him or prevent him from entering the village. I open the floor to ideas." She sat back down. The advisors just sat numbly not able to speak in their outrage and humiliation. Naruto spoke up immediately at this.

"I can stop him from using his little tricks. Don't worry about that."

"This is good to know Naruto, how?" Tsunade asked looking very interested.

"I have learned how to make a seal that will prevent a space-time chakra manipulation within a certain area. This is a double edged sword of course as people wont be able to use any summoning or teleportation jutsu, but I can link the seals to your crystal Baa-chan, so they will activate at your wish. To place the seals I can just make some clones. It won't take long maybe a couple of hours. If he enters Konoha again he will be very surprised."

"This is very good news Naruto." Kushina spoke up. "Are you sure this will work?" Naruto nodded.

"It is one of the 4ths seals. Designed and tested by him. It will work." Everyone relaxed at that. Anything regarding the 4th was worth a hundred times its weightingold, even after all these years.

"Proceed then, Naruto. Report back when you are done. If the advisors would kindly stay however?" The two elders sat back down slowly. Naruto felt their hate filled glares on his back. Those old war-horses will always hate him.

Once outside Naruto called on the Kyuubi chakra to create the clones only to find it blocked for some reason. He closed his eyes and controlled his emotions. He turned around to see Na'omi standing calmly by a tree."

"Na'omi-sama," he said his voice a little curt. He saw her eye brow quirk up as she regarded him. She came forward and bowed slightly.

"I came to thank you Naruto. You actions against Madara saved me a great deal of pain. My healing abilities would have prevented my death from such a technique, but I would have been in pain for much longer if not for your aid."

"You don't need to thank me! You're an ally to the village! Of course I would help you." She smiled slightly in thanks, but continued.

"I also wanted to apologize to you for my actions regarding our…relationship and my words to the Hyuuga girl."

"Her name is Hinata," Naruto's eyes narrowed as his anger grew. "And you had no right to say those things to her. You really hurt her and me. You called me your friend. You said we were bonded. Around here that means something and you don't go around hurting friends like that!"

"You are correct. The only explanation I can offer is that I did not understand the depth of feeling the two of you shared. I thought it was just a young crush, maybe some holding of haste or a chaste kiss at most. I did not know she was so fragile and sensitive where you were concerned. I already apologized to Hinata for my words and she kindly accepted. Though I do not think she wishes me to be around her and would prefer that I stay out of her sight." She tilted her head. "May I offer some advice, the friendly kind?" Naruto bit his lip and nodded.

"Part of my bijuus powers is to see the truth behind people. Similar to the Hyuuga eyes, though not as potent and refined. Hinata is a very troubled young woman. I do not know what happened to her to put her in the hospital as I was out of the fight at that point, but whatever it was it is still affecting her. I can sense something warring within her, trying to change her and not for the better. Watch her closely and offer her endless comfort and support."

"What do you mean?" he asked, very concerned for Hinata's well being.

"She has suffered some kind of trauma." Naruto remembered her words in the hospital. 'Violated' she said and a slow pain took his heart and he had a terrible suspicion of what happened. "These things can twist and warp someone. Especially like Hinata. The girl was pure and innocent, despite her career as a shinobi. Whatever happened to her is acting as a poison to her thoughts. She may start to act different than she used to, that is the poison talking and not her. Like any venom that has set hold, the wound will have to be lanced to let the poison out."

"How do I do that?"

"You must get her to talk about it, and it will have to be soon, or it will change her forever." Naruto shivered and nodded. "Are we still friends Naruto?"

The teen put his hands behind his head. "Well, yeah," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world**.** "You can't just stop being friends. I want to know why you kept throwing yourself at me though." Na'omi pursed her lips and organized her words before answering.

"I am very lonely Naruto. I had not realized how much so until I met you and came to this village. I have lived a long time. Through the founding of the villages, through many wars, and many deaths. You are the first person I have met that can truly understand me. I have not had that kind of bond since my husband died. I had hoped to find that again with you." Naruto felt really bad now, but couldn't, wouldn't betray Hinata.

"Na'omi-sama…" He began, but Na'omi held up her hand stalling him.

"I understand that can never happen now. There is too much time between us; it wouldn't be how I would need it to be." She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't be sad sunshine. I'm not glass." He smiled and knocked her hand away playfully.

"I have to go. Meet me tomorrow at the training ground, I need someone to spar with." She smiled and agreed. He watched her go thinking about what she said about Hinata. He would keep his eye out. When Na'omi was well out of range, he drew deep on the red Chakra till he felt it start to bubble around his skin, then create a huge horde of shadow clones, Far larger than he did when normal training. Over three thousand Naruto clones knew what they had to do and took off in all directions to the city. He would have the seals his father had taught him in place within the hour. He let the red chakra go and felt his skin start to heal up where it had burned him. He always hated when that happened. Shrugging it off, he started for the flower store. Hinata needed support and support she would getin spades.

-

Hinata was jumpy for some reason. She needed something but she wasn't sure what. It made her skin crawl, she needed it so badly. She was pacing around the room when a servant informed her that Naruto was here for her. Her eyes lit up and she ran through the long halls of the spacious home till she saw him at the front door. "Naruto!" She tackled him with a hug and a big kiss. He laughed at the exuberant greeting and returned her kiss. She noticed he was holding his hand behind him hiding something.

"Naruto-kun. What do you have behind your back?" She asked.

"Nothing," he smirked. She frowned and folded her arms, then tried to jump behind him but he twisted away before she could see.

"Naruto!" She whined.

"Ok! Ok!" he said laughing and brought out a large bouquet of her favorite flowers. She blushed prettily and graciously accepted the flows, smelling them and hiding her mouth in the blossoms.

"You didn't have to do this Naruto," she said.

"I didn't**,** but I wanted to**,**" she smiled at him. "You did however need this." He pulled out a thin rectangular box from his coat pocket. She looked at his quizzically for a moment and set aside the flowers to take the present. Looking at him one more time she opened it and her breath caught. It was a necklace. It was gold with a small obsidian pendant, surrounded by diamonds.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N," She couldn't even say his name she was stuttering so badly. This was the Hinata Naruto knew and loved. The shy timid girl who was so very sweet and gentle. The one in the hospital that was so forward had caught him off guard. He laughed at her stuttering and stopped her with a kiss.

"Happy birthday my love." She looked up at him flabbergasted.

"But my birthday was almost three weeks ago!"

"I know and I was hurt you never told me your birthday before. I had to find out from your sister. You're my girlfriend and I wanted your first birthday present I gave you to be something special."

"Naruto it's beautiful, but it's so expensive!"

"Don't worry about that. I get profits from the 'Ichi Ichi Paradise' series still; on top of that I have Ero-sennin's money. I'm rich!" He grinned. She turned around and lifted away her short hair.

"Will you put it on me?"

"Of course!" He pulled out the necklace, pausing a moment to admire her neck. Slipping the necklace around he snapped it in place and let it fall into her cleavage. He touched her neck for one moment then turned around and rewarded him with a very serious kiss.

"Wow!" He said after the kiss. "If I'm gonna get kissed that that I'm gonna buy you a necklace every day!" She giggled, and then looked around for a moment. Before he knew what was happening she had grabbed his hand and lead him to her room. He admired it as she slide the door closed. It had a great deal of Lavender and white. It was obvious she had many luxuries most people would deem obscene for a young girl to have. He heard a rustle and turned around. Hinata had slide off her Kimono and was walking towards him with a sway to her hips. His mouth went dry. She calmly removed his coat,

"Hinata…wont one of your clan see us?" She shook her head and started to life his shirt off.

"That isn't allowed in the compound. It would be akin to peeping and if anyone ever looked into my room at night for the purpose of seeing me…well lets just say he would not be enjoy clan life for long."

She reached down and tugged his pants off and led him to her bed. At that point he really didn't care who saw what as her smooth muscled legs wrapped around him.

-

Naruto was panting. He was tired from his 'late' night with Hinata and the practice was killing him. Na'omi was asked to give a report on what she knew of Madara from her younger days as she had a great deal of history to share with the village so instead Kushina had taken him to task. He had barked some pretty words at her, how he didn't want to hurt her before they began. He was regretting that now. His mother was pretty damn strong. She didn't have the chakra that Kisame did, but her jutsu was extremely well controlled and precise.

At that moment he was on his back trying to catch his breath. That time he had lasted about two minutes against her before she landed a hit with some weird water globe that was attached by a thin chakra thread that she swung around like a weapon. Hinata was watching from the tree. She wasn't allowed to train yet, so she was reading a book. 'Ichi Ichi Paradise' of all things. She told him she was contributing to her next necklace. He didn't really have a reply for that. His mother walked over to him with a scowl on her face.

"Maybe if you had come home last night instead of spending the night with Hinata you would be doing better," she snapped. He opened one eye to cast a baleful glare at the water user.

"That's not the problem."

"Then what is it! I've barely had to dodge anything you have thrown at me today."

"I can't get past your damn defense! Normally I can powerhouse my way through any kind of shield, but that weird water thing does take any hits, it turns them aside so my power doesn't count for shit."

"Then use a Futon to cut through it!"

"You keep me too far away it doesn't reach that far!" He snapped back growing irritated.

"Then use a different one with a longer range!" She said between clenched teeth. She was being very short with him the past several days. When he woke up from the hospital after his little 'jump' she kissed him and asked if he felt alright. When he replied that he felt good as new she slapped him so hard he thought she knocked a tooth out. Then she broke down and slapped him again before yelling at him furiously through many tears for the better part of two hours.

"I don't know any others!" He replied. She looked at him blankly.

"You're kidding me."

"You asked me what I knew before the jounin exam and I told you! I haven't really had time since then to train and learn anything else have I?"

"I guess that's true. We need to change that. Take a seat Naruto." Naruto frowned and did as he was told. Waiting for his mother to sit on the ground in front of him.

"I guess it's time for you to start coming up with a Jutsu on your own." She smiled at him.

"I already did that," he replied.

"No, you just completed an idea someone else gave you. Here is your assignment for the next three days. You will go to the great library and study on the makings of seals and the molding of chakra to get different affects. Once you learn that by heart you will come up with an idea on your own and work to complete it. We got some information that there is some unknown Nin massing at our borders. We estimate you have about three days until something happens. You need to have it ready by then. Think you can do that?"

"I guess so, but before we start that could you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Teach me how to mold water chakra?" Kushina looked surprised at that.

"Whatever for Naruto?"

"Cause it seems really flexible and you can do a lot of things with it," he told her. She thought it over for a bit.

"Ok. I guess it couldn't hurt, but remember Naruto you might not have the ability to do it," she told him. He just grinned in that infuriating manner so much like his father and replied.

"I'm Uzimaki Naruto! Of course I can!"

Naruto was nursing a lump on his head as she began teaching him about Water Natured Chakra.

-

--

-

**Pain** stood on top of one of the mammoth statues in the Rain village. As always the downpour made it seem like he was crying. He surveyed his home, his dominion like the god he was, from high above looking down on everything. He didn't have to wait long as Madara stepped from the shadows and walked towards him.

"It's about time. We have been waiting for you."

"There were things I had to do."

"You were ordered to take the nine-tails almost a month ago."

"And it will be another two months before I make my move."

"What?! I have told you it is imperative that we do this within the time-frame or the jutsu can not be complete! If you fail to obtain him it will be another five years before we can move again!"

"I am aware of that. It was I who devised the Jutsu Madara-sama. I can not take him in the village or outside of it without certain bodies and certain abilities. I have been cultivating them."

"Please. Call them containers, that's what they really are." Pain just looked at Madara and the ancient Uchiha laughed. "You didn't think I knew your secret? I've always known. The first of us trained under the Rikoudou and I had access to his lore about the Rin'negan. I know your secrets Pain. Remember that." Pain bowed his head at the admission.

"Knowing my secrets and having the power to counter them are vastlydifferent, Madara-sama. We are invincible immortals. Gods among men. If you wish to test our powers Madara-sama, you have only need to strike." Throughout the entire speech, Pain's voicenever carried any emotionor changed the slightest in pitch. Indeed, Pain had not felt an emotionin so long that the very concept of it was alien to him. It had been burned out of him far too many times in his quest to gain power.

Madara just laughed. "A god among men you may be Pain, but I am a god amongst gods. If I decide to strike, it will be with full preparation to defeat you, not haphazardly as Jiriya did. My informants lead me to believe that he almost defeated you as well. Perhaps you should rethink your strength before you challenge my authority."

"I have no need to explain myself. Your authority over me is such of equality, Madara-sama. It is something I allow in partnership towards the same goal, nothing more," Pain replied.

Madara looked at him silently for a moment. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, three great dragons of fire converged on the rippled eye god. Madara shielded himself from the explosion of fiery rock and twisted metal. He looked over to see the body of Pain sailing through the air. With his Sharingan he saw some kind of seals being formed, but was too far to make them out. Suddenly he was the one flying through the air, as Pain once had; barrelingtowards the spiked wall that spelled doom to whomever hit it. '_A replacement jutsu with a living body! Masterful!_' He laughed. Without warning, he was suddenly standing behind to the pierced god, a flaming hand plunging forward only to have his hand caught. _'Impossible!' _he thought.

"Are you finished Madara-sama? The outcome of this would indeed be in question. I think we both have sufficiently showed a small measure of our skills in this test." Pain replied, the purple eyes that rippled hypnotically increased in speed as he daringly locked eyes with the Sharingan. Madara frowned at the bold statement.

"We can not afford two months for you to be ready. He is growing strongerand must be taken soon."

"……I have been watching the boy from afar, If I try to take him now, I will be…defeated. I must prepare."

"What do you need to speed up your time-table?" Madara asked. Pain looked at him again before stepping off the statue half a mile from the ground.

"Remove Namikaze Kushina from the picture." He faded down into the murky air as he fell. Madara ran though his resources.

"I believe I can arrange that."

Madara sat in the usual cavernous hideout atop his throne of stone. Two figures of scintillating rainbow hues flickered into existence before him.

"Yes Madara-sama?" They replied in Unison. Good they both came.

"Konan, Pain is being difficult, he will not move until Namikaze Kushina is out of the picture. You will assist with that." The woman's projection nodded.

"Sasuke. Pain's difficulty has put us in a precarious state. The time table is too precise to allow him the time he claimsto needs. You will claimthe nine-tails for us. With Konon keeping the boy's mother out of the picture it should be possible, you can not take too long however as the village will rise inhis defense. Make it quick and proceed with all haste to the compound where you slew Itachi. I will meet you there and remove the trackers that will be following." Sasuke nodded slowly.

"I have a request then." Madara looked at him sharply, not in the mood for childishness.

"What is it?"

"Since I am there it will be a perfect opportunity to remove Danzo and the advisors from the picture. Not only for personal reasons, but ROOT has been a thorn in your side, I am told. With all the old war-horses removed from Konoha, the final strike will be much easier to complete," Sasuke explained. Madara thought this over for a moment beforeagreeing.

"Do it**. **It must be done before you attemptto take the nine-tails. You have your orders, proceed." The images flickered out. Madara leaned back and let a small smile grace his cracked lips.

"It is almost time Zetsu."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"Watch the fight. You know what to do."

"Yes Madara-Sama." The earth user melted away into the rock where he spoke from.

"Soon… so very soon," Madara said softly in the void.

Naruto was struggling with his diagrams. The completion of the Jutsu he wanted to make was difficult and complex. The seals that would be needed didn't seem to work together and his chakra mold would fall apart according to the theories. If he could pull this off he would have an ultimate defense. Lightning Jutsu especially would fall apart against it. That was his main concern. _Sasuke…_ Every night he saw his face before going to sleep. His mind recalled the last meeting he had with Itachi.

_**(Flashback)**_

_Itachi looked at Naruto through the cloud of crows as Naruto struggled to break the illusion._

"_You said you thought of Sasuke as a brother. Well I'm asking you what you would do if Sasuke were to attack Konoha?"_

"_What? Why would Sasuke…he'd never to that!" Naruto exclaimed._

"_Sasuke is still pure," Itachi replied. "He could easily be colored by anything. If that should happen, would you be able to stop him? Even if it meant killing him? Could you weigh Sasuke's life against Konoha?" Those cold red eyes bored into Naruto's shocked face. Naruto grew angry and shouted at the Uchiha._

"_I'd protect Konoha! And find a way to stop Sasuke without killing him!"_

"…_You're such a child. You talk of nothing but pipe dreams…There are times with a ninja must make painful choices." Naruto thought back to his conversation with Jiriya._

"_Someone once told me the same thing. But there's no choice. I won't go back on my words! That's my way of the ninja!" __The blonde replied__ with grave seriousness. Itachi stared at him for a long moment. The crows flapped and swirled around the pair. Naruto was surprised to see a not unkind smile tug at Itachi's lips._

_Suddenly a surge of crimson vibrant energy poured into him from Itachi. 'Is this an attack?' Naruto thought unable to move during the process. Naruto fell to his knees, __completely disoriented__ and exhausted._

"_I've' given you some of my power," Itachi said. "I hope the day never comes when you have to use it."_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Naruto didn't want to believe it, but with Sasuke having joined with Madara, he had to consider that he would be forcedtofight him again. He needed something to stop whatever Sasuke was going to throw at him. The Uchiha was lightning aligned so that meant his strongest techniques had to be of that nature. Naruto had to complete this Jutsu to stop Sasuke.

He looked over the diagram again.

"I need to do three seals at once to mold it in this way. How can I do that? It's impossible."

"No it's not Naruto," Sakura said, looking up from where she was helping him with his research alongside Hinata. Naruto quickly looked up at the pink haired medic Nin.

"It's not?" he asked

"No we do it in the more delicate and advance medical Jutsu. There are ways to form seals with two fingers. So you use two one handed seals at the same time, while both your hands are forming the principle seal the other two will be channeled though. Three seals at once!" Sakura smiled at him.

"Sakura! You're brilliant! Thanks!" He gave the medic a quick hug to Sakura's embarrassment and Hinata's annoyance. He looked up to his horde of clones pouring over books in the large library. "Yo! Clones!" The horde looked up at the boss. "Find all the books you can on one handed seals and advanced medical techniques! Learn them!"

"Yes boss!" The crowd called out thunderously and hurried to the walls of scrolls and information to begin the search. Naruto turned back to his diagram and crossed out some sections to make some new symbols.

"I think I see how I can do this now! It won't be much longer!"

An ultimate defense that can also be a strong attack. He was almost there.

-

--

-

* * *

**A/N**  
- When devising my outline I originally had Hinata die. However as I wrote the story more and more I realized that a lot of people would be very upset to have Hinata killed off, in addition, frankly I just didn't want to go through the pain of writing out a Kyuubi going 4 tails 5 tails, whatever. He couldn't go through a death and still be able to fight any decently strong characters like Sasuke, so it was easier to keep her alive.

- The next two chapters are going to be full of fighting. Your gonna have Sasuke/Danzo. Konon/Kushina. Na'omi/Karin and back to Naruto/Sasuke. Stay tuned!

-

* * *


	13. Chapter 13 Friends and Foes

**A/N -**  
- A big huge thanks to Agayek, my Beta guy for the help with the story and for the Japanese translations for the Jutsu. A list of the translations is provided in the notes at the end of the chapter

-as a side note I've gotten lots of PMs and a review asking about when Hinata's mental problems will come to a head. It wont be for several chapters unless I rush things along. Her situation needs to develop more.

**-I just reedited the chapter to fix all the words that were mashed together and the spelling mistakes that I could see. I'm sorry for those who were turned off from reading by the mistake.**

* * *

**Chapter 13 **

**Friends Foes and Something Else**

-

"Arrrg!" Naruto fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Taking a deepbreath, he hoppedbackup. "Again!" He told Kakashi, who swiftlycomplied, forming seals and sending a small dragon of living lightning at him. Naruto formed the seals as best he could and reached out with his chakra; molding it how he needed to. _Almost…Almost…_The jutsu completely unraveled seconds before the dragon hit him, sending him rolling throughthegrass again. He stood up on shaky legs, his hair standing on end from the ungrounded current. Kakashi was panting and growing tired. They had been at this for the better part of four hours and he was almost out of chakra.

"Naruto, let's try this a different way." He suggestedto the teen.

"Again!" Naruto ignored him, giving the order though grit teeth. Kakashi sighed and obeyed, wincingwhentheygotthe same result. Naruto was on the ground, this time with a smalltrickle of blood coming from his nose.

"Ok that's enough. Your brain is going to melt if we keep this up. The lightning element is nothing to shrug offsolightly**.** You can't keep taking these hits and expect to be able to mold chakra correctly," he told his student. Naruto sat heavily on the ground and Hinata rushed over to rub his back and shoulders, massaging the tension from the muscles.

"I thought just learning how to mold and make the seals would be the hard part. I can't do this with clone training either. I have to feel the jutsu coming at me to see how to mold the chakra Kakashi-sensei. I can't do the jutsu blindly until I have it down and can practice more."

"I think the biggest problem you are having Naruto is forming the seals perfectly. What you're trying to do requires almost perfect stance and seal manipulation."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. Kakashi scratched his head thinking how to put it simply for the young jounin.

"This isn't like your wind walk trick where you can just throw power into it and expect it to work. There is a precise amount of chakra and threads you have to manipulate and maintain, if what you told me is true. From what I have seen with my Sharingan and from what Hinata has seen with her Byakugan, your triple seals are a little loose and off formation and this is making the threads you are controlling incoherent. You have to be perfect, absolutely perfect, in your seals and body stance to mold the chakra correctly so the threads perform how you want them to." Kakashi looked at the boy for a moment. He just had to know what he was trying to do.

"It would help if you told me what this new jutsu is supposed to do. I gather it is supposed to be an ultimate defense of some kind, but what?"

"That's a surprise Kakashi-sensei, but I will tell you that with it, no lighting fire wind or water technique will ever be able to touch me, no matter how strong it is." He grinned. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow.

"That's a pretty bold statement, and what about earth jutsu?"

"Eh, that's still a problem, I don't think this will have any affect on earth styles, but my clones and rasengans and air walk can put me on even footing against most earth jutsu," Naruto said. Kakashi had to admit that his students' resources against Doton users were indeed enough to prevent any serious damage.

"Ok. You win Naruto. Still, take a break from this method of training. Show me your normal stance and make the seals for the jutsu, I want to see up close where your problem is.

Naruto did as he was told. Hinata helped to direct him into the best stance to align his chakra coils correctly and Kakashi went through each seal step by step till Naruto knew exactly how his hands, feet and body needed tobeplaced. He made his mass of clones and Kakashi had him doing only the stance and seals over and over again. If it really was supposed to be an ultimate defense then he needed the seal formation speed that Kakashi had. Whenever you needed an ultimate defense it was always neededinstantly.

Naruto spent another two hours working on the seals before they called it quits for the day. He was still a long way off from completing his masterpiece. He took Hinata out to dinner and then headed home.

-

Kushina was preparing some barbecue when Naruto came slouching through the door. She grinned at his exhausted expression.

"Tough day at training I take it?" She grinned mercilessly. He sat down heavily on the sofa and gave her a baleful look. She just grinned wider and brought a plate over, setting it on the table in front of him. He dug into the food ravenously. She chuckled and got a plate for herself. Sitting down next to him she asked how the training was progressing. She had finally broken him of speaking with his mouth full so it took a moment for him to answer.

"Slower than I hoped it would be. I think the seals I am using are correct, now I just need to getgood at using them and I will almost be there,"he explained to his mother**. **A moment later a look of concentration spread across his face. "And I still have to come up with a name for it."

"Don't worry Naruto, from what you told me this will be an amazing Jutsu worthy of your father. You can do it." She assured him. He smiled thankfully and went back to his food.

Later that night, Kushina awoke to a soft-repeated**, **slightly muffled noise. She gathered her swords and stepped into the shadows beside the window. She relaxed when she saw Naruto in the garden. It must havebeen midnight and he was stillout there with around a hundred clones practicing his seals. He was relentless in this training. She shook her head and went back to bed.

-

--

-

Sasuke was seriously annoyed. The past two days as they traveled towards Konoha he had beenforcedto listen to Karin's complaints about the eight-tails. She begged not to come and when that didn't work she threatened him that she would. He put her in her place and for the entire trip she would not stop complaining. He was almost to the point of killing her himself.

"I don't know why you need me for this. You're strong enough for anyone in that village. You don't-"

"Karin," Sasuke interrupted quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm quite sure that you don't need a tongue for most of your ninjutsu. Keep that in mind if you open your mouth to complain one more time." She just stared at him for a moment and finally shut her mouth. Sasuke rarely spoke a threat, but he never bluffed, so when he did deliver a threat he meant it. She decided to change the subject slightly.

"So what is the plan going to be? Three high priority targets in one night and another the next day is pretty hard." The kunoichi asked.

"The first targetis Danzo. He is in charge of a hidden organization called ROOT. ROOT protects the advisors without the Hokage's knowledge. With Danzo out of the picture ROOT will quickly pull back in chaos as they try to salvage the situation. This will leave the advisors with minimal protection and ROOT will be unable to respond when we go for them. You will be with be me when I move towards Danzo. Your purpose will be to guard my back as we move into their base. Once I encounter Danzo you will prevent anyone else from interfering. It should not take long. Once I am finished I will use a space/time jutsu to move us to a special location that has long been abandoned in the city. We can rest there and wait as ROOT falls apart and the protection around the advisors drops. Again you will take care of the guards and anyone who tries to come to their aid. This will not be short. I will be a long while with them." Karin nodded through the plan marking it down in her mind.

"Do you want me to use the Lotus?" She asked.

"You use whatever you have to. Don't hold back."

"Hai…" She hung back a bit to admire the view of the man in front of her. 'So cool!'

They didn't talk muchfor the remainder of the trip. It was a three day journey to the Leaf village and they would arrive that night. With luck they would be leaving alive and whole by tomorrow afternoon. They each landed lightly in the large tree branch and looked beyond. Sasuke didn't say anything, but she could feel his change in attitude.

"This is the first time you have been home in almost four years isn't it Sasuke?" Karin asked looking at her crush from the corner of her eye. Sasuke stood on the branch calm and poised, but she could feel the buried emotion rippling off of him. For a second she thought it was home-sickness, until she realized it was anger. A raw unbridled rage that gave his eyes a manic gleam. He didn't respond to her questions. He just stared down into the distance at the bright lights of Konohagakure-no-Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"The village looks impressive Sasuke. They have a heavy defense set up. I can feel many chakra signatures along the walls. Do you know where to find this Danzo character when we get in?" Sasuke just looked at her like she was a fool for even asking something so stupid.

"I was just making sure! No need to get upset!" She smiled sweetly, a drop of sweat training down her face from the amount of killing intent that radiated off him.

"Come. I shall be the hand of vengeance that eases their fearful hearts. I shall be their guide and judge to the afterlife." Karin gulped and watched as he leapt off into the distance. Karin never told him that Zetsu was following with them. She looked to the tree fro a moment.

"The eight-tails bitch won't interfere right?" She asked the odd looking shinobi with the living jaws surrounding him.

"Don't worry Karin. I will collect her. You will not encounter her again except during the draining." He reassured her. "Just do your part. Kill Sasuke when he defeats the nine-tails." Karin closed her eyes and gulped. Sasuke was cute, but Karin valued her life more than her crush's. This bastard had a hold over her she could never break. She nodded slightly and jumped after Sasuke who was almost out of her sight already.

-

--

-

"Mooooore! Moooore! Damnit!" Naruto felt the technique unravel and a loud 'whooshing' sound filled the air. The lightning dragon hit him this time, but he didn't feel the impact. In order to be able to take more and stronger hits he had used some of the skills he was using for his new technique to create a small Wall of compressed air directing him from on him, almost over his skin. When the dragon hit, it would disperse most of the energy only causing a very mild shock to Naruto. This allowed for much more practice time since he didn't have to spend so much time recovering after each hit. He knew the stance the and seals by rote now after spending close to three hours last night before he collapsedfrom exhaustion. All that was left was executing the jutsu. He was so close he could feel it with each attempt, but something kept unraveling it. He poured almost his entire chakra pool into it once, just to see if it was a power thing, and it still unraveled.

"I saw something happen there, Naruto. The dragon wavered somehow. That's the first sign of progress so far." Kakashi said. Naruto frowned at him.

"I'm not a genius and I don't have my clones with me. You can't send that many dragons to make the clones worthwhile. So I don't know what else to do besides just grind it out the old way." He hated the old way. Kakashi looked at the boy a second.

"Naruto, you said you needed a jutsu to fight against so you could measure the progress of the jutsu as it is formed. So you know what it feels like when complete and can memorize it right?" The masked pervert asked. Naruto nodded. "Does it have to be a lightning jutsu or a Raiton: Dragon" He asked again.

Naruto stared at him in confusion for a second then shrugged. "No it could be any of the other elements or another style of lightning nature. You chose the attack and I figured I would use lightning since it's your affinity." Kakashi wanted to kick the kid in the face.

"You idiot! Naruto we have crammed you full of knowledge, you've done tons of missions. You devoured half the library of Konoha in two days. I trained you, Jiraiya trained you, and Kushina trained you. How after all this can you possibly be so stupid?" Kakashi was just about done with the dense student. Naruto looked more than argumentative.

"Hey if what we were doing was so stupid then how come you didn't come up with another way before hand? Huh oh great copy ninja?" he yelled at his sensei.

"Hmmm, could it be that I don't know anything about your Jutsu, so Ithought you needed exactly that since you agreed to it?" Naruto gulped and huffed, refusing to kook the jounin in the eye. "Would a Katon work Naruto? I know a low powered but wide area Katon. It is a static jutsu so I could maintain it for a long time. That way you could use your clones to practice." Naruto perked up at this.

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei! That would be awesome!"

"Ok let's begin then. He walked into a more open space and began a string of about fifty seals. Suddenly 50 balls of fire, about the size of a basketball, hung suspended in mid air. Kakashi moved to a different area and performed the Jutsu again.

"There you go Naruto. I can't hold more than two jutsu at once. I can keep these two up for about an hour give or take before I run out of chakra." He said. Naruto grinned and made the appropriate amount of shadow clones. He was soon back to work, eager as ever. Hinata came up next to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, could you please tell Naruto-kun that I had to go and that I will stop by his home later tonight?"

"Ok Hinata, I will. Is everything alright?"

"Of course, I just have to meet someone." She replied nervously. Kakashi nodded and watched her run off down the path leading to the village. He couldn't help but feel that something was troubling the young woman. He turned back to keep watch on Naruto's training.

True to his word Kakashi could only keep up the technique for about an hour. Naruto had made a great deal of progress. He almost had it. The balls of fire gave him a much better comparison than the lightning jutsu. He was just a step away. Maybe another day of this and he would finally complete it. Naruto helped the exhausted Kakashi to his house and then went home to shower and eat. Kakashi told him that Hinata would visit tonight. He sighed at that. Hinata seemed very withdrawn. Emotionally she put on a good mask, but Naruto could tell she had closed off the bond they had, she seemed to only want sex and nothing else, but mindless chattering.

His mother wasn't home, but left a note that she was helping at the academy with some of the soon to be gennin. He hadn't seen Hanabi today and she usually found a reason to come watch him or question him about something. Maybe it would be a good time to go visit the young Hyuuga. He did admit that while it was annoying at first having the budding shinobi around all the time, she grew on him and he liked the idea of a young kid looking up to him and asking questions. He always wondered what it would be like to have a gennin team and if she was in any way like they would be, he couldn't wait to be assigned one. He made a note to ask Tsunade for the opportunity.

He made it to the Academy and saw Hanabi working on some taijutsu drills with some other students. Looking around he didn't see his mother. _'She must be with some of the younger students inside.'_ He thought. She always remarked and took the time to help children he had realized. She really likes them. _'Probably because she lost all that opportunity with me.' _He started to entertain the thought of fixing his mother up with someone. It's about time she got married and the idea of a real flesh and blood brother or sister was great.

He made is way over to Iruka who was watching their forms. "Hey Iruka-sensei!" He greeted the teacher!

"Naruto-sama! It's good to see you!" the man replied with a smile.

"Sama? Come on sensei! It's chan!" Naruto blushed a little.

"Not any more Naruto. You're a jounin now and a real hero after saving my life." The man laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Saving your life sensei?"

"It's just Iruka now to you Naruto, and yes you saved my life when that masked guy attacked. I was one of the chunnin caught in his fire technique. You dispelled it and save my life and the lives of twenty others. You're the talk of the town."

Naruto hadn't known that. He was about to reply when he felt something coming in fast towards his back. He knew right away it was Hanabi trying to catch him by surprise. As he felt her get in close he calmly side stepped and she stumbled past off balance. He reached out and caught the back of her coat before she fell and lifted her up. She looked at him with pursed lips.

"I almost had you that time Naruto-sensei!" Iruka laughed at the stunned look on Naruto's face.

"Sensei now eh Naruto?" Iruka teased to Naruto's chagrin.

"Yeah, Hanabi, what's with this sensei business?" Naruto asked her when he set her on the ground.

"I overheard Otou-sama speaking to the Fifth. He was asking that you be my gennin instructor. She didn't think it was a good idea, but father is really pressing for it. So you are going to be my sensei in a couple months!" She smiled joyously at her sensei. Iruka and Naruto stared at each other.

"Hey what can I say Iruka-san! I'm that great!" Naruto grinned.

"I don't know Naruto." Iruka argued, both of them ignoring the annoyed girl below them. "You're pretty strong, but it takes a lot to watch and take care of three kids."

"I am not a kid!" Hanabi yelled. They both kept ignoring her and she stamped her foot.

"It shouldn't be too much trouble," Naruto argued back. "Time consuming yeah, but I think I can train them well. The better I train them the more they can watch out for themselves." He laid a hand on Hanabi's head who swatted it away.

"Tell you what Naruto." Iruka just had an idea. "Why don't you teach this class for the rest of the period? I will observe and if I like what I see I will throw in my support to the Fifth that you be allowed a gennin squad."

Naruto grinned and flashed his old instructor a thumbs up. "No problem!" he then grabbed the suddenly eager Hyuuga girl and led her over to the class, who stopped their forms and gathered around the kid.

Iruka watch fondly as Naruto taught the class for the better part of an hour. He went over speed and strength and when one was better than the other. He went over the different ways someone could increase each of them and helped some students along the path of which roads they might look into. What sealed it however was the last thing Naruto taught them.

"Listen guys!" Naruto said. "You can all be as strong as you want to be but even the strongest shinobi in the world will fall to good teamwork. Being a part of a team is like being a part of a family. You help each other up when you fall and support each other when you're weak. When you leave here you're going to be part of a team. Don't ever think any member of your team will bring you down. That kind of thinking is what brings you down, not anyone else. You have to fight for your friends and those you love, that is what gives you real strength!"

"Why?" A kid named Goru said. "I have lots of brothers and sisters and they are all weak! How does protecting someone weak help you? It was a good question and Iruka wondered if the blond would answer it correctly. He wasn't disappointed.

"What's your name kid?" Naruto asked.

"Goru."

"Well Goru what if I told you that you could become a chunnin right this instant if you could defeat the Hokage?" The kid looked like Naruto was crazy.

"No way! She's kick my butt!"

"But would you try anyways?" The kid shook his head no.

"That's why!" Naruto said. "Listen up twerps! The easiest thing to do in the world is to give up on your self. In a fight if all you are fighting for is yourself or your own power then one day you will give up on yourself and lose. It is much harder to give up when someone who is precious to you is in danger. When you fight for others you strive to go that extra step. To throw that extra punch or to squeeze out that last bit of chakra you didn't even know was there." Naruto had them all captivated by his passion. Something Iruka had rarely been able to do. "The Will of Fire! The will to never give up! The secret to it is the bonds you form. Make them strong so that nothing can ever break them. Do that and you will all become strong ninja!" The kids cheered, even Goru. Hanabi had chosen her sensei well.

-

--

-

Danzo, powerful, but crippled shinobi, almost hokage and leader of ROOT was calmly sipping his tea, going through his reports. ROOT was stronger than ever and had been relentlessly holding back the attempts of the Hidden Mist village and the Rain country to get into the borders. He was the hidden Hokage he believed. The true strength of the village, not the 'peace-loving talk you to death' Tsunade. A member of ROOT had finally been able to infiltrate the Rain country and reported back that the mysterious leader Pain and some unknown person named God's angel. Were both gone. Some young woman named Miyu was in charge. The ROOT member had been ordered to kill her, but had never reported back. Danzo regarded him as a lost asset.

"Danzo-sama!" One of his masked members appeared in front of him. "Several of our guards at the compounds entrance have not reported in. We could detect no sign of struggle." Danzo loved the sound of cold flat emotionless voices. The perfect weapons and tools.

"It seems that the Hokage is making her move. If she wishes to play that game then we shall. Eliminate the threat then move on the Hokage. She is a traitor to this village for attacking ROOT. Spare those that protect her, they are still shinobi of the leaf and are only misguided. When all is done kill the nine-tails boy. It is past time that threat is eliminated." He took another sip of tea. The masked ANBU in front of Danzo crossed his hand over his chest and body-flickered away. Danzo got up and moved to a wall. There he took down a staff and moved to sit on a cushion in the center of the room, the staff across his lap.

-

Karin had a special ability that no one, not even Madara knew about. In addition to being able to sense chakra sources miles away, she had the ability to completely hide her own signature and those close to her. That meant that no one could detect them short of smell or sight, smell was a problem, but there were plenty of Jutsu that could make one invisible if they did not move. The pair watched as ROOT scattered through the base searching for the intruders.

It was slow going to get to Danzo. Sasuke only knew how to get into ROOT's base, not where the enigmatic leader ruled from. They stayed hidden by using Sasuke's skills to keep them out of sight while Karin masked their presence with her's. When Karin would signal an 'all clear' they would move quickly to the next room and hallway and so on and so on. They did encounter a few traps and luckily they stumbled on a lone ANBU who was hiding in a corner waiting for them. Sasuke quickly immobilized him and they took him aside for questioning. It only took a few seconds with Sasuke's genjutsu for the man to tell them where to find Danzo. Sasuke gave Karin a look as he walked away and she swung her hand down, killing the man instantly.

They walked down the final hallway before the ancient war-hawk. Sasuke entered first. Karin assured him that the man was alone that no other chakra signature was present. They were all on the higher levels of the underground complex. The bandaged old man watched Sasuke coldly, never setting his eyes on Karin. He was covered in bandages, one half of his face hidden in the white gauze, presumably having lost an eye long ago.

"Uchiha Sasuke," The man said with a small smile, standing slowly from his cushion, a long staff supporting him. "This is unexpected. I assumed the Hokage was the source of the problems."

Sasuke didn't say anything, just slowly drew his sword.

"Why are you attacking ROOT Sasuke-san? You almost became one of our members. You should be aiding us to get rid of the weak Tsunade." He said, his single eye glittering with malice and contempt.

"I don't care about any Kage. I am here… as an avenger. You ordered the murder of my clan against the third Hokage's wishes and drove my brother into exile. I am here to see justice done."

Danzo didn't say anything. Karin moved to the doorway and walked up. Taking her position of guard against those that might come to aid their leader.

Danzo, it seemed, was not the frail old man he pretended to be. He came at Sasuke in a smooth, graceful rush, his staff whistling through the air. Sasuke moved to block, but quickly had to jump back as the end of the staff suddenly ignited. He felt the heat scorch his clothes as the swing barely missed him. Danzo wasted no time in pressing the attack. The staff swung and dipped, stabbed and blocked; a flurry of movement that kept Sasuke on the defensive. In the blink of an eye Sasuke reversed his sword swing and knocked the staff away. Danzo began a one handed seal, and Sasuke recognized it as an earth jutsu, one that would give Danzo stronger skin that could survive a swing from the legendary Kusanagi. Sasuke smiled. "That is a mistake." He said as Danzo finished the Jutsu.

Danzo leapt back, but Sasuke, who was pressed against the wall, used his chakra to rocket towards Danzo. The old man readied his staff to crush Sasuke's skull, believing his earth skin would protect him from any attack. Quickly, Sasuke swung the sword up to block the staff and his freehand, hidden at his side**, **came a light with the blazing bolts of the Chidori. He punched with a furious scream of anger his hand passing through the old war-hawk's chest. The body fell, dead instantly, as his heart exploded with the energy of the strike. Sasuke pulled his bloody hand out of the corpse and looked at the body for a moment. Wiping his arm on Danzo's bandages he looked up to see Karin going through the belongings of two ANBU who must have tried to interfere. Karin looked back at him.

"That was quick." She said. "What now?"

"Take my arm. I will take us to safety." She obeyed and using a high level teleportation jutsu Karin and Sasuke suddenly found themselves in the old Uchiha compound. Sasuke's old home. Karin sneezed.

"Dusty! Cobwebs! Gross..." She said looking around the place. Sasuke didn't say anything. He moved over to a corner and dusted it off before he sat down to rest and replenish his chakra.

"Now we wait," he said just as Karin opened her mouth to ask the question. She shrugged and went over to sit by him. In a few hours they would strike at these advisors he talked about, and then tomorrow, Naruto.

-

--

-

Na'omi was meditating in the night air. She had moved to an abandoned house just outside the village in order to stay clear of the Hyuuga girl and still be close enough to aid Naruto. She had just finished training rather hard and was meditating to regain her Chakra, before retiring for the night. Suddenly she leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding vines that shot out from the trees to capture her. Twisting in the air she formed some seals. "**Katon: Fireball!**" She held her hand in front of her mouth as the simple fire jutsu burned the vines and lit the night. She landed and looked around cautiously. That was new; she had never seen vines moved by chakra before.

"Kukuku…" a voiced laughed out of the darkness all around her. "Very nice Na'omi-sama. A simple and efficient way to take care of my vines. Can you, however, deal with this?" Without any further warning**,** the trees came to life. They uprooted themselves and took ponderous steps towards her. '_What the hell?_' she thought. Yes this was defiantly something she had never seen before. She quickly formed the seals and one of her braids rose into the air behind her, the seal on the cloth it was attached to glowing silver-white in the darkness. As the trees reached down to grab her, she was incased in a thick ball of blue flame. The ball expanded, burning away the branches to dust in seconds. It continued to expand until it was a massive dome of incandescent blue heat. The trees around her flared up in the blue flame quickly becoming nothing but ash as the jutsu faded away.

Na'omi dusted off her hands and looked around, her voice snide with contempt. "Is that the best you can do? Ha!" She laughed. In front of her a strange sight appeared. A half man/half plant rose from the ground, its face stripped in different colors with an odd jaw like appendage around its upper torso.

"And you are?" Na'omi asked.

"I am Zetsu." Two voices seemed to roll into one. Very odd indeed. "Please come quietly, it will be easier."

"Ah. Akatsuki. Four of you couldn't take me before what makes you think you alone can do it now?" She grinned.

"I am very different than Sasuke and his team." The head sank back into the ground and the whole forest surrounding her seemed to whisper his next words. "We are not one. We are all the land!" Na'omi felt the ground start to rumble beneath herfeet. She clapped her hands together and three braids rose swiftly, twirlingtogether so that each of the three seals touched. **"Doton: Dairo-ji-gara!"** She was encased in a tight ball of compacted stone. Air and heat from the other two seals compressed the stone, instantly turning the defensive shell into a case of diamond. It was a good thing too. From the rumbling earth a pair of gigantic stone hands rose up under her and grabbed the shell. The hands smashed together in a monstrous parody o fclapping over and over again. The hands pounded on the sphere and threw it to the ground. This continued for another minute until the hands finally crumbled away. The diamond shell lay still on the ground for a moment before exploding outwards, the hard shards piecing the air, earth, and foliage. Na'omi stood up panting.

"So you wish to play with Dotons? Very well, I will be happy to oblige!" She snarled. All eight braids shot into the air and formed a glowing canopy of greenish hue around her. Chakra boiled and contorted slowly encasing the woman in a glassy sea of green chakra. The Chakra began to mold and shape itself. The glassy effect slowly faded away and Na'omi was standing resolute in her two tails form. Her eight braids had wound themselves together into two thick strands. The tails rolled out of them crisping the earth a dozen feet behind her where the chakra tails ended.

"Oh this should be interesting. Don't you agree?" One of the voices said. The other responded eagerly. "Oh yes! Two tails! We should take care of her quick in case she decides to go to eight!"

Na'omi smirked. And jumped into the air forming the seals of one of her strongest jutsu.

-

Naruto tossed and turned in bed. Something was calling out to the Kyuubi, almost tugging at the chakra. It was too far away to break the seal, but it was enough to invade the dreams of the young man. Dreams of the forest itself coming alive to take Na'omi away, tails slithering everywhere and lashing to no avail…He couldn't awake from the dream. The Kyuubi wouldn't let him.

-

Na'omi finished the seals and came down with a powerful stab, her arm buried to the elbow in the ground. "**Doton: Earth Destroyer!"** She cried out in a loud voice that echoed like thepronouncement of doom it was. The ground vibrated and then, hundreds of feet in all directions, the ground closed in on itself, forming a thick impossibly dense ball of earth. Anything under the ground would be crushed instantly. Just to be on the safe side two of Na'omi's tails shot forward impaling the large sphere of earth and hurled it into the air leaving a large crater behind. Na'omi blurred through some more seals. "**Katon**: **Daiasa-hiryu**" a huge roaring flame in the form of a dragon shot from her mouth expanding and expanding as it closed on the airborne mound of earth. The flame grew brighter and flashed a yellow gold as its heat went beyond measuring. The heat it generated ignited trees over sixty yards away.

The impact was so large and so bright that the night around Konoha became a sunny afternoon. And people glared away from the brightness. Kushina and Naruto woke immediately from the shockwave and nova like intensity of the fire jutsu. Naruto looked at the sleeping Hinata for a moment, then threw on his tools and a shirt and met his mother downstairs. Without saying a word they both hurried to the battle site, meeting up with several ANBU, including Kakashi and Gai.

Na'omi panted and fell to the ground. Her tails molting away, her snake like visage receding to normal. Two of her strongest moves drained most of her chakra, but she got the bastard. She chuckled a bit.

"Kukuku." Her eyes shot open as the chuckle echoed around the new crater. A swipe of a kunai from behind, removed ll of her braids, greatly hindering many of her greatest techniques. '_Impossible_' she thought. He jumped into the air but Zetsu caught her foot and pulled her down slamming her into the earth. A vine shot from his sleeves and tied her up in a matter of moments. Yanking sharply**,** he flung thee xhausted jinchuuriki, twisting and turning, down into the crater. She managed to break free of the vines and was working on the seals for a water jutsu when the trees came again. They grew from the ground snaking around her and over her in thick branches.

"Impossible!" She screamed. "Only the First Hokage of the Leaf had this Jutsu!" Her hands slashed again and again with molten fire trying her best to stave off the onslaught of plant life. It was to no avail however and they slowly crushed her and she hung limp and gasping. Zetsu rose from the wood in front of her.

"Yes he did have this ability, his Keke Genkai. To create life. You don't remember me do you Na'omi-sama? We meet and fought long ago. You bested me then, but I've grown much stronger. You may have known me as Senju Ichiro. Son of the Shodaime." Na'omi's eyes went wide.

"You died…I killed you." Zetsu laughed.

"No you just left him for dead!" Another murderous voice spoke from the same lips. "I saved him! I helped him become what he is! AHAHAHA!" the voice was cut off by the original one. "Enough." Zetsu said. He formed his hands together and his fingers slowed with a seal tips. "Time to sleep Na'omi-sama. You won't wake up again." He smiled pleasantly.

"NOOOOOOOO!!" Her voice echoed throughout the woods only to be cut off abruptly.

"NA'OMI!" Naruto yelled out. The group came upon the dense cluster of branches and vines. Kakashi held Naruto back, uncovering his Sharingan and staring intently. He turned to the ANBU squad.

"Go get Captain Yamoto and bring him here. He should see this."

"Lets get in there sensei! She needs us!" Naruto tried to break free of his sensei's hold.

"No Naruto, use your brain and listen to me. That Jutsu in front of us shouldn't be there. In fact, I'd almost say it is impossible that it is there, but it is. If we both take one step into that maze we will be caught by whoever Na'omi is fighting now. Whoever used this Jutsu controls everything in there. The entire environment and battlefield will suit his needs and whims. If we go in there Naruto, we will all be killed."

Naruto didn't like it, but like always Kakashi had never steered him wrong, so he waited. Yamoto came about ten minutes later. He landed by Kakashi and Naruto and looked at the Jutsu in amazement.

"Impossible!" He blurted out.

"Everyone keeps saying that, but it's right there so it isn't impossible! Will someone explain what this thing is please?" Naruto was seriously angry and worried about Na'omi.

"This is the First Hokage's most powerful and famous Jutsu. Only he could use it and control it like this. Even I can't do this Jutsu and I have his cells in me. I can, however, get rid of it." Yamoto put his hands together and then pressed the glowing palms to the trunk of one of the thick branches. The glow spread and spread quickly off into the distance and the Jutsu began to receded and vanish. The squad quickly moved in and closed on Na'omi's home. They found a ruined battlefield. With scorch marks, burnt trees and a huge crater about the size that one of Naruto's Futon-Rasen-shuriken would leave. At the edge of the crater they found eight thick ropes of black braided hair. There was a white card sitting on top of it with a red cloud in the center. No sign of Na'omi. Naruto punched the ground, but refused to let any tears come. He was done crying. He was tired of crying. It was about time he stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. "Can you track them? Which way did they go?" The masked jounin nodded. Slitting open his thumb he made the seals and summoned the group of Ninja hounds. The dogs too the scent of the hair and ran off into the night looking for the scent. The group waited impatiently.

Pakkun, one of the hounds came back after about ten minutes.

"Sorry Kakashi the train doesn't go anywhere. It disappears into the ground and then vanishes. We can't follow." Kakashi nodded with a sigh and dismissed the ninja hounds.

"What does that mean? Why can't they track her?" Naruto asked furiously.

"It means Naruto, that this is the work of that Zetsu character we have in our Akatsuki report. It means that he can move objects as well as himself through the earth in some sort of advanced Doton. There is no way to track of find out where they went Naruto. I'm sorry but she is gone."

"Bull shit!" He cried out and turned to Yamoto. "You have similar abilities! Can't you find out where they went?"

"Naruto I am no where close to thing kind of control or power. I would have to train for years to be able to track them through the ground. I'm sorry, but Kakashi-san is right. She is gone Naruto, from the looks of the battle-field she gave it her all. She was taken with honor." Naruto shook his head and started back for the village. His thoughts racing

Fifteen minutes later the group found themselves in the Hokage's office giving their report. She listened to the end and made her decision.

"Naruto… You're going to have to go into hiding."

"What?!"

"Don't argue!" he voice rose and she slapped her desk, quelling the teen. "This night Danzo and the advisors were killed." The entire group gasped at the news.

"How Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"We don't know. Danzo had a hole in his chest from some fire or lightning technique, but we are unable to determine what. The advisors had their heads removed. No sign or calling card of the murderer. Those three worked together a great deal. They did many terrible things in the name of the Village and had enemies beyond count. Sooner or later it was bound to happen that someone would come to call on them." Naruto was sad that they were all dead, but couldn't help but think that it might make the village stronger with no one undermining Tsunade's authority.

"I will set a special investigation squad of ANBU to go over the battle site and determine if they can get a leads as to the location of Na'omi. I will also send out word to our allies to look as well, but Naruto." She looked hard at the young boy. "You're not going after her. Stay here a moment. Everyone else is dismissed." The group filed out leaving an enraged Naruto behind.

"I'm not running with my tail between my legs!" He told her.

"You are going into hiding with Kakashi, your mother and two others. I will be the only one who knows where you are and there you will stay hidden and train. You will do nothing but train and get ready."

"No I am going to stay and protect the village."

"You're going to get caught and end up killing the village." Tsunade replied showing no mercy for the blond jounin's feelings.

"Fine if I am going I want to get a gennin squad assigned and take them with me!"

"Are you out of your mind Naruto?! How can you train and still teach and protect a group of kids?"

"Clones." She ignored that and tried a different approach.

"There is no way I will put three children in danger!"

"If going away into hiding is supposed to keep me safe then they won't be in danger."

"There is no promise that Akatsuki won't find you!" Tsunade screamed.

"Then there is no reason for me to hide then damnit!" Naruto screamed right back. Tsunade ground her teeth.

"Their parents won't agree!" She retorted. Naruto just grinned moving in for the kill and leaned over her desk.

"They will be happy to get their kids trained and away from a possible invasion. And there is one more thing." Naruto offered. "I won't ever call you baa-chan again!" Tsunade thought about it. She didn't like it one bit, but she had to get the blond away from Konoha.

"Very well. Somehow I will pull it off. Be ready to leave in three days."

"One more thing if you please Hokage-sama." Tsunade's vein popped. "Could I request Hanabi and the dead last of the class please? I don't care who the third member is, I just really want those two!" Tsunade just waved her hand carelessly.

"Fine whatever, just go! Get some sleep it's late." She pushed him out and shut off her lights; heading back to bed herself."

-

Naruto stared up at the ceiling. Hinata was sleeping soundly beside him. They always had to sneak in at night. If his mother ever found out she was here. Oh there would be hell to pay. He brushed a lock of her hair to the side and idly wondered if Na'omi would be ok, or if they would kill her like they did Gaara and the other Jinkuurki. His eyes closed thinking about his lost friend, wondering if he would ever see her again.

-

The next morning Kushina awoke and was soon in a foul mood. Naruto was gone at first light again and hadn't even bothered to say good morning or leave a note. To try to ease her mind she went out back to water the garden. Naruto was growing farther and farther away from her the closer he got to Hinata. The troubled young girl was devouring any free time he had when not training. Kushina had barely spoken to her son since before he left for his jounin exam and the trouble that happened after that. Things had been moving so fast since then that no one could just stop to rest and think. It seemed a blur of activity and tension. Something else seemed to come up every other day. Kushina and Naruto and especially Hinata needed a break to think things over and settle their nerves a bit. When Tsunade told her this morning that she was sending Naruto away she was ecstatic. They could finally be away and alone together to just train in private and seclusion. She could get to know the real him when he wasn't so absorbed with training and Akatsuki.

She almost missed it. The hair rose on the back of her neck. The small jolt of someone watching her, thinking of killing her. She hadn't survived for so long against all odds, by ignoring this feeling. Calmly she set aside the watering bucket and tied back her hair heading inside. She raced to her room and threw on her shinobi garb. She knew who was watching her and knew it was time for the long awaited encounter. She promised Naruto she wouldn't get involved, but this was something she couldn't avoid. She knew Konan was after her and not Naruto. To get her out of the way.

Kushina threw on her bright yellow billowing pants and light yellow blouse with her jounin vest over the top. She strapped her swords to her side and made sure all her shinobi tools were in the proper place. She reached over for the head guard she always kept with her. Minato's head guard, her latehusband's. There was still a spot of his blood on it. She smiled slightly and tied it around her forehead. She braided her hair back and walked into the living room. On the table was an origami flower. Konan's mark. She sighed and set three envelopes on the table. One addressed to Naruto, one to Tsunade and the other to Hinata. They would be there in case she didn't return. She jumped out the window and headed towards the river. She wanted to fight close to water.

She was just out of the village when Konan started to herd her. The paper user obviously knew she was going for a body of water and wanted to prevent her from getting there. Kushina however knew the water tables of the area a great deal and knew a place where a flowing stream was just a dozen feet under ground. Giving her all the water she needed for her techniques. She stopped in a lightly wooded area, feeling the stream under her and waited for the woman to catch up.

She snapped the sheath of her sword up just in time to block a single paper knife hissing through the air. They made so little sound and were sharper than a kunai.

"Konan…"

"Kushina…It will be like you said. We will get your son over your dead body."

"You can't defeat me Konan. I am a water user, your greatest enemy. Stop fighting us and join us."

"I am not worried about your water jutsu and I told you the last time we met. Pain is inevitable and he is coming."

"Naruto will be strong enough for him by the time he gets here!"

"Naruto will be taken this very morning by Uchiha Sasuke. His weakness for his former comrade will be your son's downfall. You will die here and your son and everything you have worked for will die. It is time Kushina."

Kushina pulled at the water under the ground and it gushed to the surface. The two powerful Kunoichi slapped their hands together at the same time launching their attacks.

-

Hinata woke Naruto up that morning with a kiss, telling him that she had to hurry home, before the servants came to find her gone. He nodded and got ready himself since he was already up. He downed a glass of milk and had some crackers for breakfast and headed to his training area. He paused a moment and checked in on his mother who was sleeping soundly. He smiled and couldn't wait to be able to spend some time alone with her when he was sent into what he had termed his exile.

He stopped by the library to gather some scrolls to read while he was training. He wanted to apply a few ideas into some tricks he was working on. He arrived at the training area to see he was alone. Knowing Kakashi, the cyclops was still asleep and wouldn't be there for another four hours or so. He figured he would do some warm ups and have a clone read the scrolls. He was workingthrough his third set of katas when the air changed around him suddenly. He felt a prickle on his skin that told him someone was watching.

He looked at the clone who answered the look with one of knowing. It felt it as well. He resumed the exercises to loosen his muscles from the tense sleep he had. He waited for whoever was watching him to show themselves. He wondered if it was Zetsu coming back for him. Well if he did, Naruto had an answer for that mass forest jutsu bullshit. He snuck into the library last night and learned a powerful wind jutsu that would outright punish anything like that used against him. He prayed it was Zetsu so he could rip the answers out of him. He felt it coming. '_So fast!_' Naruto thought. He could feel several kunai coming in silently toward him. He made a one handed seal and the air pressure changed slightly throwing the aim of the weapons off. They hissed by his ear as Naruto applied some chakra to the backs of his gloves. The gold etching glowed slightly as it strengthened the metal and Naruto suddenly spun and stopped the sword strike with the guards. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sasuke…" He stared into the cold eyes of his friend, his brother, his team-mate**, **and his would-beexecutioner.

"Naruto…" He said softly, his black eyes, having not activated the Sharingan yet, were locked into Naruto's. "Slow as ever…dobe." He smirked as he sent a charge of Chidori through his blade shocking the blonde teen as the current ran through him. He knocked His former team-mates hands aside and spun delivering a back-kick to Naruto's stomach with a chakra thrust from his heel.

Naruto felt the breath rush out of him and he went sailing through the air, crashing heavily to the ground. He rolled a few times before regaining his feet and facing his former friend.

"Why are you doing this Sasuke! You're working for them! You're part of Akatsuki! Don't you know what they want to do to me?" Naruto screamed at his team mate. Sasuke just tilted his head. The wind blew and billowed around the young Uchiha, his black cloak fluttered with his hair. His blade held loosely at his side.

"Naruto… You have been living in ignorance and denial all these years. I have never, even as a child cared anything at all for this village. I only cared about the Clan. You, the village, the pathetic Hokage means only one thing to me. Death. I will burn Konoha. I will bathe in the blood of thisvillage and raise the Hokage's dead body high for all to see. The Uchiha Clan will be revived and reign supreme among the countries of Shinobi."

"Under Madara?" Naruto yelled. "He just wants your eyes Sasuke! He wants your power!"

"I know. He can want all he wishes, but it is my power and my eyes. He can never take them." Sasuke retorted.

Naruto was about to respond when he noticed Sasuke's shadow flicker a bit. He looked down at his own and then snapped up to Sasuke's face. No the Sharingan still wasn't activated. Then how…He was in the Genjutsu from the moment he felt his skin prickle. He had to get out of this. He stared at the boy a moment and stopped his chakra trying to break the genjutsu. It was too tough he soon decided. He probably has his Sharingan out and is just masking it with the genjutsu. He hastily looked his eyes away down to the torso and legs.

"So you noticed Naruto. I am surprised you could tell, this genjutsu is particularly strong. You can not escape it Naruto. I already sensed your will bend against it and fail. I had expected more from you since you killed Kisame. How sad. You are, and forever will be…weak…Naruto." Naruto raised his eyes to boldly look at Sasuke through hooded lids. He smiled a devilish little thing.

"Heh." Naruto had already cut himself and drew the blood before he tried to break the genjutsu. He made the seals and reached under his clothes and drew it across a seal on his shoulder that was tattooed into his skin, hidden from view. Sasuke was actually far to Naruto's side from where Naruto was looking at the fake image. He didn't trust the unpredictable ninja and decided to end it quickly. He rushed with all his speed towards Naruto. His sword raised, his grip tightening. He turned the edge just so. A cloud of smoke surrounded Naruto's hand as Sasuke's sword came down.

**CLANG!** the force of the block flattened the grass for yards in all directions. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. Naruto had seen through the genjutsu. He had blocked a sword that should not have been blockable! How? Sasuke saw that Naruto now held a simple looking katana. At the bottom of the grip was a large snake fang.

"I see you… Sasuke." Naruto's voice dripped with anger. The powerful whining like that of a jet engine filled Sasuke's ears. He looked down to see Naruto's hand coming in toward him with a new type of rasengan.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled and thrust forward too fast for Sasuke to jump back.

-

Karin watched deep into the tree-line as Sasuke ran at the Naruto guy. He looked cute, just like when she saw him last with his spiky blonde hair and overcoat. She saw that he wore a jounin vest now. Well he killed Kisame so he better be jounin level. She saw Naruto talking to thin air and knew that Sasuke had him in one of his powerful Genjutsu that was impossible to break. You could only break it in the first seconds of it taking affect, after that it couldn't be broken.

"You must be that fan girl that follows Sasuke around nowadays**,**" A voice spoke from behind Karin. 'Shit!' She was too busy watching Naruto and Sasuke that she didn't feel someone sneak up on her. She turned to see someone standing the in the shadows.

"Get the fuck out of here if you know what's good for you!" She told the shadowed figure. It had a fairly average chakra signature. Nothing abnormally potent, only about as strong as Karin's.

"Tell me girl." The figure asked sarcastically. "What gives you the right to think you deserve Sasuke?" It asked. Karin decided this mysterious shadow obviously wanted to die, especially for challenging her feelings for Sasuke.

"Ha! I've been traveling with him for months now. I've known him for years! No one else is worthy to have him."

Sakura stepped from the shadows tugging her gloves on. "Bitch! You don't know the first thing about what others have done for Sasuke! When I am done with you, you're going to look like the rocks I practice on." Karin smirked and the two kunochi rushed at each other, their hands glowing.

-

* * *

**Translations**

**Doton: Dairo-ji-gara - Grand Earth Design (The diamond shell that incased Na'omi)  
**

**Dai-asa-hiryu - ****Grand Dragon of the Morning Sun (The Katon dragon that Na'omi fired. It's a much stronger jutsu than the one Sasuke used on Itachi during their final battle. it's yellow in terms of the greater heat generated.**

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**A/N-**

-The Sword that Naruto suddenly had was a summoned weapon in case those of you who missed that he drew his blood across a seal

-Yes it is fan girl against fan girl! When I thought of the two fighting I just had to add it.

-Next chapter three battles to conclude - wow I better get to writing.

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	14. Chapter 14 Let There Be WAR!

**A/N  
**- A big thanks again to my beta reader Agayek who did a wondering job proof reading and translating for me.  
- I went over everything after the doc conversion and I think I fixed all the words that got bunched up together some how. In the word format they where all fine, but Fanfics convertion seems to be a little iffy and causes some formating problems. I hope I got them all

-Here you go for your viewing pleasure NARUTO vs SASUKE going all out!!

* * *

-  
--

**Chapter 14**

**WAR!**

"**Suiton: ****Suijinheki No Jutsu**!" The red-head shouted. The water at her feet explodedfromtheground around her feet to block the lance of paper kunai bearing down on her. Kushina was in the middle of forming her next seals when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and in her side. She looked to see two of the paper blades embedded in her flesh. '_How did her paper go through my __shield__?_' She thought, but didn't have time to figure it out. She looked upjustintime to see the rest of the barrage drilling straight through her jutsu. Cursing herself for the waste of time and chakra she threw herself to the side as the origamiprojectilesfinallybroke through the wall, piercing the ground whereshe hadstood.

Her hands never stopped moving**, **however. Forming jutsu after jutsu at the self-styled 'God's Angel.' **"Suiton:** **Teppodama No Jutsu! ****Suiton: ****Shiete Nuisha No Jutsu" **She spat out three high velocity streams of water that cut through the air towards Konan. Konan, her origami wings fullyformed by then, gave a mighty flap and rose into air, dodging all three. Kushina's latter jutsu formed four spinning liquid globes around her that wove in an intricate defense. The water in the globes was so dense and heavy that they ground the second barrage of paper kunai to waterloggedshreds.

Kushina was seriously worried now. Konan had made her paper water proof somehow and that negated hermain advantage. She had to destroy as much of the paper as she could since Konan only had a limited amount available to her.

Konan glided gracefully though the air high above the tree tops firing wave after wave of origami at her former friend. She needed to try something different; Kushina was too strong for a tactic that simple. She recalled the paper into a fluttering rain of white over the landscape. Kushina paused in her flight to take advantage of Konan's pause. Pressing her hands together in the triple seal style that Naruto had been studying, she molded a large amount of chakra for her jutsu. "**Suiton:** **Sashishia**!" She pulled more water from underground and it formed under her foot. At her direction, the waters lifted her high into the air, charging towards Konan. Kushina drew her blades quickly and dipped them into the funnel of water below her. When she drew them out a large sphere of water was swirling rapidly between the tips. Konan dove to the ground to avoid the on-coming funnel, but Kushina twisted the water-based lift to follow. Pulling the swords back, she swung them forward with all her strength. The globe shot forward quickly overtaking the descending Konan and tore a hole through one of her wings. Kushina grinned and clapped the swords together. A loud metal ringing reverberated through the air, causing the water globe to explode. Hundreds of small water pellets flew through the air in all directions, tearing through anything and everything in their path.

Konan spiraled out of control as she lost one of her wings. She saw the water globe rush past her and was busy forming the seals to repair her wing whenshe felt something ooze across her face. She knew it was her blood and looked over her shoulder to see a small hole torn through it and her legs. She grew dizzy and couldn't stop her fall through the foliage below with a painful crash.

Kushina didn't let up, however. She leapt off her flying funnel of water and poured more chakra into it. The heavy water barreled into the area that Konan fell, ripping trees apart and flinging them aside. Kushina landed on a tree branch, her water defense still spinning around her body. She jumped to the ground and moved between the trees towards the spot where Konan hadfallen. '_Could that have done it?_' She hoped, but didn't think so. Konan, she knew, was far stronger and resourceful than that. She approached the area with great caution. Looking around she saw the impact site. She took out several exploding tags and tied them to some kunai. Rushing forward she jumped into the air. _There she is!_ Konan was just now standing up. Quickly, Kushina threw the weapons at her back, hoping to end it quick. Konan however twisted her head viciously and glared with hate at the airborne water user. A flood of Origami formed a wall that the Kunai detonated against burning a great deal to ash. Kushina landed again and got into position waiting for the next moves to play out.

"To think," Konon said. "That you would force me to use this technique so early in our fight. I can no longer stand Kushina." A larger amount of the chakra infused paper that Kushina thought possible shot out of the small impact hole. It fluttered through the air like a thick snow for a moment then circled down back towards Konan. Slowly the kunoichi rose up, taller than before. Around her was a complex armor of origami. Head to toe she was covered with the paper, gleaming from their chakra**-**infusedhardness in the morning sun. A helm styled like the samurai of old protected Konan's head; a hawk-like mask covering her face, her soulful dark eyes staring from within. This was definitely something Kushina had never known Konan to be able to do.

Konan cut her thumb and slammed her armored hand into the ground. Kushina frowned and readied to summon something of her own. When the smoke cleared Konan sat upon a large white Tiger that roared its considerable power. In her hands was a long pole arm, the tip a wide and wicked-looking blade easilyover a foot long. Streamers hailed from the neck of the weapon fluttering in the wind. Kushina knew she was in trouble. She went through the seals and placed her hand on the ground pulling onher chakra and calling out across space to her old ally. Thankfully, he answered her call. Next to her stood something she had not called on for over ten years. A panther almost as large as the tiger that Konan commanded.

"Thank you for coming old friend." Kushina said. The panther flicked its tail and looked across the space of forest to their foe. "You wish me to fight the Kirin? Are you crazy?" It said.

"I don't have any choice Saihiro-ki. Would you have me battle it alone?" The panther snorted. A small flicker of fire from its nose.

"No. I will not last long against it though. You must end this quickly." Kushina gave a nod, but decided to try and talk things out one last time.

"We don't need to do this Konan! Your way involves the sacrifice on innocents!"

"You are the one who deviated from the plan Kushina. Naruto must die for Madara to gain the partial powers of the nine tails. Without the full powers of the Kyuubi, the Jutsu will back-fire and kill Madara. This is the only assured way to rid the world of the Uchiha. If the Kyuubi dies with Naruto, Madara will go on and find another way to complete his goals. Madara must die. Pain knows this, you know this, and I know this. Hand over the boy, his sacrifice will be for the good of all countries." Kushina shook her head.

"Naruto has given up for too much over this saga already. To ask more of him just to kill a mad man is too much. It can never be assured that the Jutsu will fail and kill Madara. Even if it does fail there is no way to know what will happen. I will not have my son die for a maybe."

Konon shook her head sadly. "Then your fate is sealed and with your death the way to Naruto will open and Pain will claim him." She raised her spear and adjusted her seat on the Kirin tiger. Kushina pursed her lips and climbed atop Saihiro-ki. She pulled her twin katana out once more.

"Why doesn't Pain just move to strike at him now? Why do I have to be out of the way?"

"Because you would go to your son's aid and Pain could never hurt you Kushina. You are his one weakness." Konon replied. Kushina closed her eyes and remembered the young man she had helped long ago. Back when she was a chunnin from the whirlpool country. How the young man had wanted something from her she couldn't give. It was a sad thing to see how twisted he had become.

"Then let the true battle begin." Kushina said sadly.

--

--

Sakura and Karin Rushed at each other. As they closed in Sakura ducked under a slice from the wind blade Karin had made of her arm. She came up quickly with a chakra powered upper cut, but Karin back flipped away, narrowly dodging it. She formed some seals in the air. "**Futon: Whirling Dance**!" She twisted her body rapidly in the air, with her arm out. Several wind sharpened slices of air honed in on Sakura who ducked, jumped and hid behind a tree to avoid them. The tree was slicedneatly in half and started to fall. Karin took advantage of thedistraction and ran towards the pink haired medic**-**nin as the tree fell between then. She saw a small smile appear on Sakura's face as she raised her fist. The next thing Karin knew,piecesofthetreewere flying towards her! '_What the hell just happened?_' She thought. She didn't have time to dodge so she poured more power into her arm and slashed down cutting through the tree as she continued her charge. She passed through the splinters of wood to find the strange girl not there. She looked up to see her dropping down with her foot outstretched. Karin dived to the side to avoid the blow. Aheartbeatlater**, **the foot touched the ground.

**WHAM!**

The earth exploded where Sakura kicked. Karin found herself flying through the air and smashed against a tree_. "Oh...my…god.' _She thought. _'I can't get hit by her even once. The freak will kill me.' _She had to dodge again as Sakura came in with another of those devastating punches. Sure enough Karin was dodging and running from the broken tree falling down on her. She jumped into the treetops and hid her chakra signature to help avoid detection while she thought about what to do about the stranger.

--

Sakura lost sight of the so called Karin when she used the tree as a shield to jump into the upper foliage. Sakura not wanting to stand in the open jumped to the air as well to rest on a branch scanning the area. She reached into her pouch and brought out three Kunai some explosive tags and some wire. She jumped from branch to branch discreetly creating her trap before jumping down into the opening again, pulling herself into a shadow as her eyes scanned the tree tops. Sakura ran through what she knew about the user from Kabuto's report. _'She is a wind element user and limited only to that element. She has high level taijutsu skills and can sense chakra signatures miles away as well as hide her own from detection. So that means she will always know where I am and I can only find her by sight or movement.' _She suddenly had a grand little idea. She went to work in the shadows where even if Karin was watching, wouldn't see what she was doing.

Karin couldn't get a good sight of the other kunoichi without making too much movement and giving away her position as well. She had to keep it long range, but that would use up a lot of chakra. Her only hope was to distract her and come in behind to end it with her wind blade. She moved as smoothly as she could from shadow to shadow, tracking the freak by her chakra signature. She saw her hiding, and not too well in a bush looking up and away from her at the tree tops. _'Wow, she isn't very skilled_.' Karin thought _'I guess all she has is __that __freakish__ strength'_ She closed her eyes and made some seals. She then held out her arms and pulled until there was a large patch of densely contained wind elemental held between her hands. She pointed the globe at Sakura and opened a hole in the chakra container. The wind nature rushed out like a cannon at the girl's back.

Karin grinned and jumped down to the ground as it struck her, tearing a hole thought the Kunochi's chest. _'So much for her.'_ The body suddenly popped out of existence. _'A Shadow Clone?'_ She stepped back, but felt something tug at her leg and heard something. She looked down and saw a wire; she followed the wire to a bell that was tingling in the silence. _'Oh shit!'_ She dove forward suddenly dodging the punch that pass where her head used to be. She rolled forward and came up to her feet to find Sakura right in her face again. "Get the fuck away from me you freak!" Karin yelled as she did everything in her power to avoid the blows.

Sakura came in with a high roundhouse, using the twist to come in with a low punch whenit was dodged**. **Then she jumped forward with a snap kick, followed by bringing the same foot down in a drop kick, breaking a huge chunk of the ground free and sending Karin sprawling across the earth. Sakura charged after her, but came in too quickly and couldn't avoid Karin'swindblade. She grunted as a deep gash was cut into her leg. Now Sakura was on the defensive. She had to lean back as the wind blade passed by her throat then stumbled away from a stab. _'I've got to get away to heal this leg before I lose too much blood.' _She saw the Wind user jump back and form some seals. _'Oh this is gonna hurt, but it's the only way.' _Sakura thought. Karin yelled out. **"****Futon:** **Makazeryuu!"** A sinister dragon of torrential wind rose behind her. Sakura could barely make out the chakra infused eyes of the air elemental as it rocketed towards her. She focused a good amount of Chakra in her hand. She needed to soften the blow some, so she punched the ground as hard as she could. The force blew the earth apart sending huge boulders flying through the air. The dragon struck two of them, losing a great deal of its momentum and power. Sakura closed her eyes and grunted as the dragon tore into her and carried her away into the forest.

She landed and rolled with the momentum. Immediately she tied off the deep cut on her let and started to heal it. She wouldn't have much time. Karin would move slowly to avoid an ambush and she used that logic to her best advantage. After she was done with her leg she tended to a rather nasty gash on her head from the wind dragon. It wasn't bad, but the blood had the potential to blind her at the wrong moment. Once she was healed up she took stock of her surroundings. She had been pushed father into the forest, away from the battle between Naruto and Sasuke. She now had time to let that news set in. Sasuke, her dear Sasuke, was back and trying to capture Naruto and take him to his death. She had always hoped that Sasuke would not have been that far gone, alas it was a vain hope it seems. Sasuke looked…well, from what she could see in the distance, and as strong as ever. She hoped Naruto would be ok, but right now she had to take care of a certain woman.

--

Karin felt the Chakra signature in a stationary place. She didn't want to charge in again like last time. The girl it seemed could repress her signature to the point that Karin had to be within feet of her to feel it. She could be using another Shadow-clone to lure her in, too. Still, Karin had to move in, so she kept her own signature dormant and took her time, slowly crawling along the ground between the shadows of bushes to circle the area. Suddenly the signature started to move again. It was moving quickly, heading straight towards where Sasuke was fighting Naruto. _'Shit!'_ Karin thought. _'I know it's a trap, but I can't take the chance of her interfering.'_ Karin darted from the bushes and ran to intercept the pink haired kunoichi.

Karin found herself in a mess. She was in a whirling, flinging, cutting and exploding maze of death as she tried to close in on Sakura. It seemed the girl had been busy and now it was all Karin could do to stay alive as kunai, exploding tags, razor-wire and trees were ripped, torn, flung and collapsed with almost every step Karin took towards the fleeing chakra signature. Karin had a wind blade over both her arms now in order to survive, dipping and rolling through the traps, her hands flicking left and right, up and down cutting away darts, kunai**,** and God only knows what else.

Finally she made it out of what she was beginning to call 'the patch of hell'. She was cut and burned in several places and some of her hair had been torn away. _'At least that bitch is as bad as me.' _Karin mistakenly thought._ 'That cut on her leg should be kicking in soon and then bye-bye birdie.'_ Karin stumbled around a tree and felt the chakra signature vanish. She frowned realizing that in her haste she had lost concentration and was revealing her own location. She swore and suppressed it again, but now it was the blind hunting the blind.

-

--

-

Konan and Kushina dodged around on their feline mounts. The swords and spear showering sparks onthegroundbelow as they came together. Konan obviously had the upper hand in this type of battle, but Kushina couldn't get away long enough to perform any techniques. The white tiger was stronger and faster than Saihiro-ki, so she couldn't outrun them. Konan came in with a stab of her spear. Kushina brought both her swords up in a cross defense catching the pole arm at the 'V', she nudged her panther and he ran forwards, her swords smoothly running down the spears length towards the origami user. She pushed the weapon away and slashed with all her might only to have the swords deflected off of the paper armor. She kept moving past and nudged Saijiro-ki again forcing him forwards with all the speed he could to try and give them some distance.

She looked back a moment to see that she had indeed given them enough space. She only had one swirling water globe left defending her. She touched the globe with the tips of her swords and it melted, flowing along the edges of the blades. She looked across at Konan to see an unexpected sight. The spear was growing longer and longer coming at her very fast. She twisted on her mount as best she could, but the spear tore into her side in a decidedly serious wound. She cried out and felt the blood flow thickly down her side. _'Not good' _she thought.

The spear suddenly became paper and twisted around in the air trying to pin her down. Kushina desperately pointed her swords at the enemy kunoichi and twirled them rapidly in her hands, the water on the edges started to sizzle as Kushina channeled some lightning chakra into the blades. Her technique worked. A large swirling electrified mass of water tunneled in a long stream towards Konan. The ground and trees the water passed by where torn apart by the violent, conflicting forces. And the technique struck dead on. The Kirin, to save Konan, reared up and took the blow in the chest, flinging both mount and rider far away into the distance. She barely made out a puff of smoke through the dissipating water technique that probably meant the white tiger had been dispelled or killed. With a shaky hand and vision swimming from the blood loss and pain she applied what little medical ninjutsu she knew to the wound on her side. She ripped off a part of her pants and rook off her fore-head protector. Wadding it up she stuffed it against the wound and used the strip of pants to tie it around. She dipped into her pouch and chewed a soldier pill, then scanned the trees for where Konan might be. She made some seals and pulled some more water out of the ground. Not much, but enough for another attack or to make a wall if needed.

A cloud like shadow passed over her head. Startled she looked up to see that Konan had grown wings once again and was diving through the air. In a panic, Kushina dipped her hand into the water and pulled it out, a round like shield forming on her forearm as she desperately tried to stop the blow to her chest. It worked, the spear deflected off the water shield and slid down. Its momentum from the fall was too muchto stop**,** though. The spear pierced through her upper leg and right through Saihiro-ki killing him instantly. Kushina couldn't even cry out the shock of the pain was so great. The panther's corpse vanished and she started to fall to the ground, but her leg was still impaled by the long spear, so she flopped down awkwardly, her wound wrenching open more from the stress of her body weight. This she did cry out for, oh how she screamed from the pain for what seemed like hours.

Konan watched from the air callously, the paper wings flapping softly in the nice morning breeze. She looked around thinking it was a beautiful day then turned her attention to her friend screaming down below. She scowled at the sound, Kushina should be stronger that that.

Kushina finally gained some control over the blinding pain and stared up weakly through blurry, teared eyes. Konan applied some chakra and the spear fell apart in a flutter of origami just to reappear in her hands pointed high over Kushina, who couldn't move to save her life.

Konan hesitated a moment. "You will die now Kushina. This will cause me grief, but it would be another drop in a long line of tears. Do you have any last words or a message you will wish for me to tell Naruto before the draining? I am sure the last words of his mother will comfort him as he dies." Kushina just lay on top the water looking up at her killer. She noticed that most of the armor was gone to create the wings.

"Yeah…I do." Konan smiled and waited for the message. "Tell my son, that you failed to kill his mother." Kushina's hand was in the water and Konan failed to see that she had summoned one of her swords. Her arm swung up and threw the sword with what little chakra infused strength she could. Konan's eyes widened and she tried to bring the spear down for the kill, but was too late. The sword tore through the left of side of her chest and the spear twisted aside and feebly fell from her hand. She looked down at the sword protruding from her body. She tried to summon some chakra to turn that part of her to paper and rebuild it good as new, but there was a current running through the blade that was disrupting her chakra control. Worse the blade was pouring water into her. Her normal paper had water-proof solvent to protect it, but the paper reinforcing her internal organs and body didn't. So it started to slowly dissolve as the water soaked into it. The wings flapped feebly then began to fall apart as Konan plummeted to the ground landing with a splash next to Kushina.

-

--

-

Karin and Sakura were both pretty tired. Both were extremely skilled at chakra manipulation and the fight had degenerated into a shadow joust of sorts. Each hid in wait until they spotted the other then ran in for the kill, only to miss and vanish into the shadows again for the next round. Karin was losing thisfight, she realized. At first she hadn't noticed. She had scored several nice hits that should have bled the girl to death by now. However Karin noticed that each time she came back there were no wounds on Sakura's body. The only explanation was that the girl was a talented medic on top of that super-human strength.

Every now and then a thunderous detonation could be heard in the distance. Echoes of thefight going on between Sasuke and Naruto. It must be pretty big it had been going on for awhile now and the powers felt only kept getting stronger. Karin kept losing focus due to her weariness and snapped back to reality; every time she let her thoughts wander Sakura attacked. She quickly scanned the area to find no sign of pink thankfully. She had decided that when she saw Sakura again she would use her last jutsu, the wind lotus blossom. It was the only way to take care of her, it seemed.

A wind kicked up around Karin and with it brought the faint smell of perfume. _'She is to my right ... pretty close. There! A bit of pink trying to circle around me!' _Karin made her move and charged with her air blade whistling at her side. Sakura looked shocked and jumped back, avoiding the strike. She came down and punched the ground sending a cracking crevice with Karin's name on it. The Akatsuki agent flipped sideways and kicked out, her foot smashing into Sakura's jaw. _'I have to end this fast!'_ Karin thought. She drew on her chakra reserves and both of her arms now had her wind blade. She punched out trying to gut Sakura. Sakura dodge back and blocked the second punch with her chakra scalpel. The scalpel broke and her little finger flew off somewhere. Karin grinned and pressed the attack. The next dozen seconds were a gambit of kicks and punches, leaps and bounds. Sakura round-housed a tree forcing Karin to jump high onto a branch, but Sakura was right there, coming in fast with a chakra punch. Karin back flipped over the diving kunoichi and scored a slice along her back. Sakura grabbed onto the branch and flipped around. Karin's readied a low blow, but Sakura's palm dipped up suddenly and touched forehead lightly. Karin suddenly grew dizzy and had to jump away, dodging a follow-up attack by the medic-nin.

She had to keep jumping away as Sakura wouldn't let up the offense and let her regain her equilibrium. _'Fucking medics! Always have some weird shit up their sleeve!'_ She felt her vision finally balance out a bit and charged forward barreling into Sakura, sending them tumbling along the ground, a mass of black and pink punching and scraping at each other. Karin drew back her arm to stab Sakura in the stomach, but the girls glowing/bloodied hand flicked over her shoulder quickly making it numb and dispelling her blade. Sakura came across with a weak chakra backslap that sent the dark haired kunoichi crashing against one of the surviving trees.

Sakura stood up on panting and wiped some blood dripping from her lip. She walked slowly to Karin who was lying on the ground twitching. She grinned. She knew that was a fake twitch as the legs would be moving more. She had Karin where she wanted and set her plan into motion while the woman was playing possum.

Karin played injured and felt for Sakura's chakra, but she had it masked too well. _'The fucking bitch is good.'_ She thought. '_But I'm better and will end this now._' She listened for the tell tale sign of a whisper or a step for Sakura's location. Sakura gave her something better. She coughed up some blood and spat on the ground. Karin made her move. She flipped up into the air from the ground, an amazing feat of acrobatics and made an intricate series of five seals looking down at the stunned Sakura, who quickly recovered and jumped up after Karin, fist blazing. **"Futon: Kaika Renge!"** She used all of her remaining chakra on this move, but with the position of Sakura, with no way to dodge while in the air and with no strong elemental abilities, well, she was as good as dead. The Jutsu struck, and struck hard.

A small thin tornado about an arms width struck Sakura and pushed her back to the ground impacting on the soft earth. The wind tunnel grew shorted and shorter, but thicker and wider as it pressed the Sannin apprentice hard, unable to move in the crushing wind. The wind suddenly stopped and Sakura bounced into the air from released pressure. The jutsu took hold and hundred of twirling wind blades crashed in on all sides and through the other side. The edges of the wind, glistening crimson, formed the resemblance of a lotus blossom. Sakura fell to the ground, deep and mortal wounds over her body. She feebly twitched as her major muscles were severed. She could feel with each heartbeat her life's blood pumping out of her.

Karin limped slowly to the defeated woman, smiling a wicked smile. She couldn't talk right; she thought her jaw was broken from that backhand. The pool of blood spread more and more darkening the pink to an ugly sticky red. Karin looked down and just watched and waited for the girl to die. Sakura gurgled out a response.

"Tell…Sasuke…"She coughed a little, drowning her in her own blood and unable to complete the sentence. Karin pulled out a kunai and knelt down pressing it to Sakura's throat.

"No…I won't tell Sasuke anything except sorry, as I kill him. You see once he put's Naruto out of the picture, he will be weak. Then I will kill him and take his eyes." Sakura's dying eyes widened and a faint spark of anger could be seen. "Sorry honey. I love Sasuke-kun and all, but it's his life or mine and Madara holds the medicine that is keeping me beautiful. You see that bitch of an eight-tails used some weird shit on me that causes my skin to regenerate and die about 1000 times faster than a normal human, so I pretty much look like a walking corpse without Madara-sama's medicine. You see that's how Na'omi stays so young. She uses her bijuu powers and steals it from people. She did it to her family to. You have been harboring one of the most vile and evil of all the Jinkuurki, in your home. Heh I'd tell you to ask for yourself, but that won't be possible. Bye bye…what did you call me? Ah yes …bitch," Karin drew the kunai slowly over Sakura's throat. A fountain of blood spurted up for a second then died down as the heart stopped and the light left Sakura's eyes.

Karin wiped her hands and lay down on the ground trying to get her breath and rest up some. She had no chakra left, had several broken bones and was battered and cut from all the debris. She started to laugh softly and then couldn't help it as the dam of laughter burst. '_The bitch almost killed me. It was a close fight.'_

"I don't see why you are laughing. You're pretty much dead." A voice told Karin. Her eyes flew open and she looked over to see Sakura's body start to dissolve and all the blood vanish. _'A Genjutsu!'_ She jumped up only to find a gloved hand in her stomach and the breath rush from her lungs. Sakura then used her chakra scalpel to sever the muscles in Karin's arms and legs.

"I bet you're your wondering right now what the hell happened." Sakura said and walked calmly around and knelt over the face of the crippled kunoichi. "Well I am feeling generous so I will tell you. You see when I hit you on that scabby fore head of yours I used a medical jutsu that numbs all the senses. Including your chakra sensing ability. That was the key. Then I waited for the right time. That time was when you played possum. I ate a soldier pill that works wonders; it gives me a pretty nifty boost of chakra for about ten minutes or so. That gave me enough to put the genjutsu on you. I know you were waiting for me to come at you. I also knew you were saving your chakra for some special technique." Karin gritted her teeth and snarled.

"YOU BITCH! I'll F-"She was cut off by a hard slap to her face. Sakura just smiled sweetly and pulled out a surgical kit. Karin's eyes grew wide at that.

"You didn't let me finish Karin." Sakura calmly said and started to check over the various instruments carefully to Karin's nervousness. "So when you performed your Jutsu I was behind you when you landed and with your senses numbed from that attack I applied a weak poison that was guaranteed to drain your chakra and leave you crippled in a few minutes just in case you had one other thing up your sleeve. By the way that poison should kick in right…about…now." Indeed Karin suddenly felt her body shake and grew feverish, all strength and fight started to slowly drain out of her.

"What-" Karin licked her lips. "Are you going to do with the instruments?" Sakura just smiled and started to open Karin's robes to reveal some deteriorating skin.

"Hmmm seems that medicine is starting to wear off. Ewwww that is nasty." Sakura put on a face and shivered as the blackened flaking skin. "Well to answer your question. Tsunade-sama never lets me autopsy anyone, she says I am too messy, I do too much damage." Karin started to scream, but Sakura just placed a hand over her mouth.

"Now I am going to give you a choice. Tell me all you know about a guy called Pain and what you meant my Na'omi being so bad. Or you can remain stubborn and..." Karin spilled her guts rather easily when Sakura picked up some kind of blunt object used for rectal insertion. Sakura listened attentively and smiled at the end. "Thank you Karin. You have been most informative, I am sure our interrogation squad will pull some more out of you, but I have what I want for now."

"You're not going to kill me?" Karin asked in hope.

"Of course not! I'm a medic not a monster!" She looked grimly at Karin though and the Akatsuki shivered. "However…" Sakura reached over and flipped Karin's onto her stomach. Karin spat some dirt out and looked over her shoulder at the angry medic.

"If I remember right, it was you who paralyzed Naruto during his jounin exam. I think it's time the favor was returned!" Sakura spat and raised her foot, pulling her chakra into it.

"WAIT! NO! AHHHHHH!" Karin tried to plead but Sakura ruthlessly brought her foot down on Karin's back expelling the chakra and shattering the vertebrae in that area, forever crippling the girl as no technique or bijuu or god would be able to put all those shards of bone back together again. Sakura bound the girl's arms and mouth and started to drag her by her hair towards the training area where Naruto was.

Sakura preyed with all her heart that both boys where ok.

-

--

-

-**CLANG!-** The force of the sword block flattened the grass for yards in all directions. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. Naruto had seen through the genjutsu. He had blocked a sword that should not have been blockable! How? Sasuke saw that Naruto now held a simple looking katana. At the bottom of the handle was a large snake fang.

"I see you… Sasuke." Naruto's voice dripped with anger. A powerful whining, like that of a jet engine, filled Sasuke's ears. He looked down to see Naruto's hand coming in toward him with a new type of rasengan. **"RASENGAN!"** Naruto yelled and thrust forward too fast for Sasuke to avoid.

Quickly he made a one-handed seal and a field of electricity shot from his body. **"Chidori Nagashi!" **Naruto was hurled back, twitching, through the air, the rasengan collapsing. He flipped and landed on his feet. Sasuke stood slowly and faced her old team mate.

"Naruto," He said. "How did you break the genjutsu?" The blond smirked, not meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"This sword was crafted hundreds of years ago by the Sages on the Strange Tree Mountain. With this sword, Sasuke, no genjutsu will work on me." He grinned and daringly met Sasuke's Sharingan.

"You…" Sasuke said. "How did you get such a weapon?"

"My teacher was Jiraiya, greatest of the Sannin. You didn't think he would leave me unprepared did you? I held back a great deal against Kisame. Saving it up for you. I told you once before**, **Sasuke. I'm taking you back even if I have to break your arms and legs!" Naruto tightened his grip staring at the man he considered his brother.

"You are sad Naruto. Why can you not see the truth of this village?" Sasuke's voice finally started to show some emotion. "This village is rotten. It kills wantonly. It took everything from me and treated you like scum. Why do you fight so hard for it? Why do you fight so hard for me, when I hold no more bonds to this village …or to you?"

"Because," Chakra flared around Naruto, growing and growing till he was outlined ina silhouette of chakra. His power thrumming in the air! "We are family!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto couldn't tell if it was from the words or the power. The Uchiha took a stance and his sword came alight with the power of the Chidori. Naruto pursed his lips and used something he had told no one about. He concentrated and chakra flared around his own blade swirling madly in a powerful spiral along the blade. Naruto had added the power of his Rasengan to the weapon.

Sasuke moved first. The avenger dashedalong the ground, fasterthan the eye could see**,** towards theblonde. With a burst of his own speed equal to Sasuke's, the best of friends met in battle again. The swords came together in a powerful stroke. The energy of the technique flashed out **to** either side. A hundred yards in all direction a thin line of destruction was carved into the ground. A bird that was flying overhead was split in two, falling in a cluster of feathers and blood.

Naruto pushed off with his blade and swung it down again, only to be blocked by the Kusanagi. In an amazing show a speed Naruto was suddenly behind Sasuke. _'So fast!'_ Sasuke thought. Naruto launched a kick at the Uchiha's back that Sasuke caught with one hand and flung Naruto away. As the blond was ailing in the air Sasuke flashed through some seals. **"Katon: Goukakyuu!"** Naruto created a shadow clone that pulled him aside in the air in a move he had shown Kakashi when he came back from training. The fire flashed by him and the Shadow clone turned into a large fuumashuriken. Naruto threw it and one became four, allspeeding towards Sasuke. _'He has gotten good'_ thought the dark haired young man who easily jumped over the shadow shuriken.

Naruto had expected such an easy dodge and suddenly the shurikens turned back into shadow clones. Each flew through a different set of seals, but cried out in one voice. **"FUTON: Arashi no Daihakaisha."**Four swirling masses of wind dragon elementals howled down from the air as Sasuke landed. Sasuke smirked as he saw them coming and answered the attack.

"**Katon: Hi no Nami!" **Sasuke breathed out an ocean of fire. The wind and fire met, but the fire grew larger and snuffed out the dragons. The shadow clones tried to get away, but the heat and mass of the crashing waves of flames had been multiplied exponentially by the winds and they were swallowed. Sasuke felt several Narutos charging in from behind. He landed and unsealed one of his bandages. The clones met a cloud of kunai which continued on to the shocked Naruto. He couldn't dodge and grunted as over a dozen of the blades pierced him. Sasuke was coming in fast, a glint in his eye.

Naruto needed to tire him out to slow him down. **"TAJUU KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"** Hundreds of clones filled the space between the dueling teenagers. Sasuke continued on, his Sharingan never losing sight of the real Naruto. One, two, and then a third, fourthandfifthwere dispelled by the weaving Uchiha. En mass, the clones jumped into the air, that new Rasengan forming in their hands. Sasuke had seen this during his time watching Naruto train in secret. Hundreds of the sphere fired off at the Uchiha who hadn't counted on just how fast the Rasen-bullets were. He was onthedefensivenow**, **occasionallyblowing one of the bullets backwith the off-shoot sword of Kusanagi. He couldn't keep doing that however; the sheer amount of power the things had numbed his arm to almost uselessness.

He saw the clones prepping a third wave of the dangerous projectiles and Sasuke knew he had to take things up a notch. _'Impressive Naruto.'_ He thought. The clones drew back, started to aim, and Sasuke's Sharingan changed. He closed one of his eyes and focused the other one on all the clones, making sure they were all in his sight. The Mangekyou Sharingan spat out its deadly technique to match the swarm of Rasen-bullets. **"AMATERASU!" **The tide of black flames engulfed the sky destroying the bullets and then the clones behind them and continued on to the tree line. Everything within sight of that cursed eye began to burn with the unwholesome technique. Sasuke grit his teeth against the pain and shut his eyes reverting it back to the normal Sharingan. The technique took a lot out of him, much as it had his brother. He panted and looked around not believing for one moment that even that was able to stop the blonde Jinkuurki. He looked up and behind him to see Naruto plummeting down with a Rasengan ready.

Naruto was circling around behind Sasuke while his clones were attacking and it was a good thing he did as an eruption of black fire filled the air as far as he could see. _'Thank god I wasn't caught with that.'_ He thought and, not wasting time, he jumped into the air, his father's gloves forming the twice-cored Rasengan as easily as the plain Rasengan. Sasuke saw him coming and jumped aside. _'I really hate those __goddamned__ eyes'_ Naruto twisted his palm and fired a chakra burst, sending the Rasen-bullet spiraling towards Sasuke. Sasuke, unable to dodge in midair, brought his sword around to block. Block it did, but the force of the technique ripped the sword from Sasuke's hands and sent it spinning away into the distance landing blade first in the ground.

Naruto knew that to fight hand-to-hand, one-on-one with the Sharingan was suicide, so he made five more clones and they moved in. Naruto's taijutsu was now much better. He kept two clones on either side of Sasuke darting in but dodging and avoiding any counter strikes. Two others stayed at mid range to throw kunai and shuriken at open spots while the fifth stayed back to observe and fill in if a spot opened up. This kept Sasuke paying too much attention to other things as Naruto himself used his eight moons fighting style to gain the advantage against standard basic and advanced taijutsu forms that Sasuke used. His body was fluid and loose, his palms darted at Sasuke's face and torso, only to be slapped aside and he was constantly shifting left and right forcing Sasuke's stances to constantly change. When Sasuke kicked out Naruto blocked with his shin and forced the leg back down trapping it with his own. He took a punch to the jaw and drove a double palm chakra thrust into Sasuke's stomach sending the Sharingan user tumbling along the ground like a tumbleweed. The Uchiha popped out of existence in a replacement jutsu. Naruto felt a devastating kick to the back of his head. He tore along the ground, stone and dirt jarring his face and filling his mouth.

Sasuke tried to move in after the downed Naruto but a double barrage of Rasen-bullets sent him back-flipping away. "He brought his hands together in a seal. **"Katon: Housenka!"** dozens of small fire balls darted to the clones destroying them, but not before a kunai sprouted from Sasuke's shoulder. With a snarl the teen tore the offending object out and flung it aside. He looked back at Naruto to see the blond had his sword out again. Wind was swirling along the blade and disrupting the air around it. He brought it down with a slash.

"**FUTON: Gufuu Kataki!"** the Jinkuurki cried out as he slashed. A tight stream of air sped towards Sasuke. **"Katon: Ryuuka!" **Two huge dragon heads, brimming with power met the futon jutsu and lit up in a massive explosion. The combatants shielded their faces from the intense heat, feeling small blisters form on their arms. When it died down both Sasuke and Naruto were panting and stared at each other across the ruined training ground.  
It started to rain lightly and the rumble of thunder was heard. The drops hissing against the black fire that still burned away the trees. Sasuke looked up and Naruto grew uneasy at the smile that formed on his face.  
"Naruto...I have to end this now. Soon ANBU will be here to interfere so I must take you in the next move. It is ironic that I did not plan or try to create the storm this time, but you still helped to make it possible." Naruto had not a clue what his former team mate was talking about.

"SASUKE! STOP THIS! COME BACK! COME HOME!" Naruto shook with fury and desperation ragingwithin**. **He was doinga ll he could to save his brother. This battle had been building for years and Naruto poured all of his passion into those words. Sasuke just smirked.

"I have only used this Jutsu once before. That man was Itachi. You should be honored I am forced now to use it on you. It failed to kill him, but you, Naruto, will die."

"I thought you needed me alive!" Naruto said. "For your master!" Sasuke scoffed at those words.

"I hold as much loyalty to Madara as I did Orochimaru. A means to an end. I have no wish for him to complete his plans, whatever they are. That is why I will kill you to prevent them." Naruto was torn between hope and anger. Anger that Sasuke planned to kill him, and the hope that Sasuke really wasn't working for Madara. It made little difference at that moment however as Sasuke spoke his next words. "This Jutsu. Can not be dodged Naruto." He raised his hand and Naruto heard a boom and looked up. Above him the sky became alive with thick bolts of raging lightning across black clouds.

'_A powerful lightning jutsu!_' Naruto thought. Naruto turned his eyes back to Sasuke who was also looking up. Quickly, Naruto poured all of his concentration into his seals. A single seal followed by a double single, then a triple seal. Time seemedto **s**low as Naruto completed almost fifty of the hardest seals possible in less than a second. His mind stretched out and with an unbreakable will took hold.

"This … is called **Kirin.**" The lightning formed into a vague semblance of a tiger and Sasuke brought his hand down. The doomsday bolt struck. The flash of thunder, the blinding light and the explosion could be seen from miles away as the villagers, the shinobi and theHokage turned to look with worry towards the distant horizon.

Sasuke was blown away by the torrential energy that that was unleashed in front of him. He howled in pain as his hands and face were blistered by the sudden heat and cut by the debris. _'What happened?' _Sasuke wondered as he struggled to pick himself up from the ground. The dust settled down finally and Sasuke looked to see what had happened. He couldn't believe even his eyes at the sight. He had missed. Somehow the bolt hadn't struck Naruto, but had almost struck Sasuke instead. Naruto stood calmly with his body held rigidly straight. Elbows straight out to the sides with his hands clasped in a tri-seal that Sasuke knew was mostly for medical jutsu.

The Uchiha snarled in hatred at the failing of his greatest technique yet again. His hands flashed through the seals again and he took a deep breath. **"Katon: Goukakyuu!"** and the famous Uchiha jutsu exploded towards the stationary blond. It came closer and closer and then just...died out. Sasuke stared his Sharingan trying to pick out the secret of whatever Naruto was doing to protect himself.

"Sasuke. None of your jutsu can touch me now." The Jinkuurki said, sweat pouring down his face, the salty liquid stinging his eyes. "This is my ultimate defense. I call this **'Fujin'**. Within the area around me, I control all wind, all air, and all pressure. Lightning will always follow the path of least resistance and needs air to travel along. I diverted most of the air to the spot between us and your technique went where I wanted it to." Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized the power of the defense. "With not enough air for fuel, your fire techniques can not touch me either, Sasuke. You have lost." Naruto said.

Sasuke snapped one seal together and extended his hand. Light and energy quickly coalesced into the sound of thousands of chirping birds. With chakra infused speed, he ran at Naruto, his hand behind him for a thrust. Suddenly he felt his movement get sluggish and his steps became harder and harder till he had to let go of the technique and dropped to his knees, holding his pounding head.

"I've increased the air pressure around you, making it harder to move and breath. This fight is over." The blond told him. He snarled in defiance

"Never!" With difficulty he made a few seals and with the knowledge of earth nature he gained from Orochimaru, he used it against Naruto. **"Doton: Bakuretsu Tsuchi!"** The defense Naruto had was**n't** ultimate at all it seemed since it failedmiserablyto stop an earth style attack. The ground under Naruto buckled up and exploded, sending him spinning away to land hard on the ground several yards away. With his concentration broken the air around Sasuke snapped to normal and the Uchiha could move and breathe normally once again. He watched his rival stand up and dust himself off, a look of irritation on his face.

"Ultimate defense huh?" Sasuke sneered. He did however admit to himself that the technique was very strong against anyone who could not use earth style. Naruto scowled and looked dagger as him.

"Naruto…you have grown." Sasuke congratulated the blond.

"You're pretty strong yourself Sasuke." He replied.

"Naruto…"

"Giving up?"

"You have lost your sword." Naruto wondered what that had to do with anything till he realized he was looking into Sasuke's eyes. By then it was too late… He had fallen into the hypnotic world of the Mangekyou Sharingan, landing in Tsukiyomi.

The world around Naruto changed into a blood red masterpiece of chaos. The landscape twisted and flattened, and from it rose a contorted parody of the Valley of the End. A statue of Sasuke stood on one side, and the blonde Jinchuuriki on the other. In the horizon, over and over again he saw pairs of eyes, Sasuke's eyes, looking at him. His voice bore down sending the blond to his knees.

"You are weak; you are a failure, watch your failure Naruto, watch and see your weakness!" The scene began of Naruto failing to bring back Sasuke over and over.

"Naruto…" Suddenly the Sharingan changed into a form Naruto had never seen before. The glassy red shifted into a six point star formation that didn't spin, but pulsed. "Naruto. These eyes that Madara desires have the ability to make what I see into reality. You shall be trapped in this vision forever both in body and mind. Even now your body is fading into my mind, Naruto. You will be sealed within these eyes forever."

Naruto felt the change, felt himself start to become more substantial in this twisted dimension. He cried out in denial, but the vision just grew stronger. He yelled out in defiance, but the vision grew clearer. He pleaded for help…and help came.

The vision stilled and Sasuke was suddenly standing in front of Naruto looking shocked and angry. For some reason Sasuke clutched at his head and Naruto saw hia Sharingan shatter like glass. Naruto felt pain like he had never felt before, even during the possession of the Kyuubi. He fell to his knees in the imagined world, holding his head as well. The world changed slighting the face of Uchiha Itachi appeared in the crimson sky. His voice rang out from beyond the grave.

"_I've given you some of my power…I hope the time comes when you never have to use it…"_

The Valley shook and receded into the ground. The sky broke into mountainous black shards to fallon the pair of shinobi. Suddenly they found themselves in the real world, but something was still happening. Naruto was clutching as his head, at his eyes. His vision changed, got sharper somehow, got clearer. Something forced the two to meet eyes against their will. Sasuke saw the impossible. The spinning eyes of the Mangekyou sharingan spinning from Naruto's confused and pain-filled face. He was pulled into the full power of Itachi's Tsukiyomi, backed by the nine tail's chakra. Pulled into a world of truth. With his own Sharingan dispelled he was helpless to break free.

"Sasuke…" The Uchiha was spinning around, franticly trying to find the voice in the void. The darkness slowly receded to a stone floor that spanned further than the eyes could see, eventually disappearing into the void. Before Sasuke, a figure rose from the ground.

"You!" Sasuke growled. "Itachi…"

"If you are in this Tsukiyomi Sasuke, it means that I have failed. That you learned the truth of that night and have come for the village in revenge." Sasuke realized it was just a memory and couldn't understand or hear whatever Sasuke said. "By now Madara will have found you and told you what you and what he perceives as the truth. But the truth and reality are often subject** to **how we see it, and you, Sasuke, have the power to force your visions into reality. I will now tell you the true goal of Akatsuki. It is the complete destruction of every man woman and child of every hidden village in every country, no more, no less. They wish to wage a war that no one can stop and suppress everyone under a tyrannical rule." Sasuke narrowed his eyes and began to absorb the facts.

"Madara needs the power of the Bijuus and…your eyes to make it so. He will settle for nothing less than your eyes. I have given the nine-tails container a portion of my power to help him against your taking him to Akatsuki. For if you capture him or he is captured, Madara's next move will be to take your eyes… for himself. The power that your eyes have Sasuke was once Uchiha Madara's in the feeblest of forms, but he lost them. Decades later, the Yodaime found them and sealed their power into your eyes to try to keep the power from Madara." Itachi then, amazingly, looked right into Sasuke's eyes.

"If you know the truth, then you know my sacrifice. Do not let it be in vain. The village is greater than any one man, friend, family or clan. Aid Naruto, Sasuke, who is a better brother to you than I ever was…" The world shattered once more and both teens found themselves lying on the ground, idly twitching. Naruto felt his eyes returning to normal and suddenly hacked and coughed, a black dark energy vomited from his body, the power that Itachi had given him leaving his body, a one time deal. He looked over to see Sasuke lying on the ground, not moving but he could see the chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Naruto heard the pounding of feet on the earth and through blurred vision sawSakura approaching.

"Naruto!" She cried out in concern and fell down beside him, checking him over. "We need to get you to the hospital. I don't have the chakra left to heal your injuries." Naruto shook his head.

"No…take Sasuke…someplace safe. Take him to my old apartment. Don't let anyone know, not even Granny-Tsunade that he's here." Sakura looked over at her former team-mate in anger.

"Why! He tried to capture and kill you Naruto!" Naruto just smiled and struggled to sit up, with Sakura's help.

"Trust me Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled at her, she felt her heart give in to the strong willed jounin and nodded.

"I will take him, but you need to get to the hospital!" She told him sternly moving over to pick up Sasuke. He grinned his grin that irritated everyone.

"I'll be fine. Just go." She acquiesced and turned to go pausing one more time to tell Naruto.

"Naruto. You did it! You brought him back! You kept your nindo!" then ran off to hide the Uchiha. Naruto just stared around at the destruction of their battlefield. Now came the hard part, of making his friend stay.

**--**

**--**

The shallow water on the ground faded back into the ground as Kushina's chakra let it go. Konan lay still on the ground. Kushina dragged herself over to the Akatsuki and old friend. She turned her over to see that she was still breathing, but fading fast. She pulled the sword out of Konan and the woman winced and ground her teeth.

"I'm sorry Konan." She said. "I had to." The dark haired woman just blinked and offered perhaps the first smile she had shown in over eighteen years.

"I know…"

"Please…help me…tell me where Pain's body is."

"No." Konan said weakly. "I will not betray my comrade, my brother. He is the one to change this world" Kushina grabbed her by the shoulders and pleaded again.

"No, your wrong! Death and war only twist people! Pain only creates more pain! Naruto is special. People change from listening to him. He has the power to truly change hearts. From the coldest murderer to the saddest widow. He is the one to change the world. Please tell me. My son, give him a chance. Entire nations have changed for the better just because of him and all he did was protect and not kill. Trust me. Trust in him!" Her passion boiled out of her, hoping to reach the dying kunoichi.

Konan looked at her for a long moment. Then she whispered out the truth. Kushina leaned forward with a grimace of pain to listen to the soft words. She leaned back up and nodded and kissed her friend on the forehead. "Thank you." But Konan could no longer hear her. Her body of paper came apart and fell to the bloody, muddy ground.

Kushina leaned back against a tree. She was growing faint. She had to deliver the message. She summoned her last remaining chakra and called forth a small panther. The creature looked up at her sadly.

"I need you to deliver a message to the Hokage. Exactly as I tell you. Don't bother getting help for me, it won't matter." The cub looked at her for a moment then padded him by her. Kushina whispered the message in its ear and it licked her cheek softly causing her to smile and scratch the top of its head. He started to bound away, but turned back to give Kushina one last sorrowful look. Then vanished into the green forest.

Kushina leaned against the tree holding her side and leg. She had lost too much blood and her medic skills didn't extend past minor cuts and broken bones. Blood replenishment and mortal wounds like this were far beyond her ability. "I'm sorry Naruto." She said into the air. "Looks like I wasn't able keep my promise." She wiped a tear from her eye.

"Minato-kun…" She spoke softly. Looking up to see her youthful husband kneeling down next to her, his hand extended. "I've waited a long time Minato-kun. I've missed you." The figure in front of her smiled and she could swear she felt it touch her cheek. "You should see our son. He is so strong and handsome. Just like you. Just like the character in that book of Jiraiya's. He is going to change the world." Her voice grew wispy. And the light seemed to fade a bit.

"Naruto…" Her sons face swam in front of her, smiling and grinning. Laughing and crying. Those blue eyes. She could hear his passionate in the countless arguments they had in the small amount of time together. "You make me so proud."

"Naruto…I love you. I'm coming husband dear … I'm coming home."

With those soft words carried on the wind of fate. Naruto's mother Namikaze Kushina, died. A smile of gentle caring, that she graced so many with, on her lips. Her eyes, warm and loving even in death.

--

--

"Madara-sama." Zetsu said respectfully walking through a grand luxurious room to sit at a chair in from of the ancient.

"Speak." He said.

"The eight-tails is in our possession, safely held until we can perform the draining. Karin and Sasuke were able to kill Danzo and the advisors, but both were captured when trying to take the nine-tails." Zetsu knew Madara would not take kindly to this.

"Naruto…Itachi and Kisame should have taken the boy when they had the chance against Jiriya. Now he has caused no end of disruption to our plans and threatens everything."

"Madara-sama. Namikaze Kushina is dead as well as Konan." This news causes Madara to jump in surprise a bit.

"Really now? Well it seems some good came from this debacle. I did not think Konan was up to the task of defeating a powerful water user. The message to Pain will be clear and his obstacle removed. He should be able to move on the Jinkuurki. He is the last hope. If he does not take him, it must be you Zetsu. In the mean time try to locate where they are keeping Sasuke and Karin. The useless woman can die for all I care, but Sasuke must be recovered. Find him Zetsu." Zetsu nodded, but the twisted personality of the plant user didn't like this one bit and raged inside his head against going up against the leaf again and Naruto.

"Yes Madara-sama." Was all he said and walked away. When he was long gone Madara stared silently into nothing. His eyes burning feverishly as his thoughts raced for the next plan of action.

* * *

**Translations**

**Suiton: ****Suijinheki -- ****Water Wall**

**Suiton: Teppodama – Water Bullet**

**Suiton: ****Shiete no suisha – ****Waterwheel of the Four Strong Points**

**Suiton:** **Sashishia – Rising tide**

**Futon:** **Makazeryuu – Evil Wind Dragon**

**Futon: Kaika Renge - Blooming Lotus**

**Katon: Goukakyuu - ****Grand Fireball **

**FUTON: Arashi no Daihakaisha - ****GRAND TEMPEST DESTROYER**

**Katon: Hi no Nami – Wave of Fire**

**Katon: Housenka - ****Phoenix flowers **

**FUTON: Gufuu Kataki - ****Twisting ruin  
**

**Katon: Ryuuka - ****Great Dragon Fire **

**Doton: Bakuretsu Tsuchi - ****Erupting Earth **

-

* * *

**A/N**

- No this isn't a Joke Kushina really did die, there wont be any salvation for her.

- An entire chapter given over to fighting was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I thought I came up with a pretty extensive fight for everyone, but I had to rewrite it twice as it ended up being too short and vague.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15 Fallout

**A/N**  
-A lot of people were wondering why Kushina died and Hinata didn't. Well it is simple. Naruto is a story about personal growth and a coming of age. People don't just change as they get older. Their experiences change them. Naruto really needed to gain something and lose something and go through some real sorrow. Kushina was added to the story as a way to add some flavor to Naruto and she was planned to die to get him over that last childish hurtle. He will be more of an adult now, which in turn will enable him to lead that gennin squad better and do what needs to be done.

And there you have it. The reason for her death. It was not random. It just had to happen.

-

* * *

-

**Chapter 15**

**Fallout**

Sasuke awoke to find himself on a rather lumpy bed. He opened his eyes slightly and looked around. The room was bare with a vague musty smell. The only light in the dim place was from a lantern that cast dancing shadows on the worn down walls. Cob webs filled the corners of the ceiling. He could make out a large spider descending down one of the windows that had a heavy curtain over it. With the curtain however he could make out a sliver of sunlight pushing through the bottom. It was daytime still where ever he was. He felt a hand move towards him and his snatched flashed out catching the wrist in a viselike hold. Whoever it was gasped painfully.

"Sasuke! Let go!" It ordered. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Sakura glaring at him. Their eyes locked for a long moment and she purposely moved her eyes to where he still had her hand gripped painfully. His eyes looked her over, noting that she had a medical kit on hip side and a pouch of shuriken and kunai on the other. He let go of her hand, dismissing her as a threat and sat up. He felt very weak from the after effects of the Tsukiyomi.

As he sat up he got a better look around the room. It was small and cramped. It hadn't been abandoned long. He could hear the hustle and bustle of many people outside and concluded that he was in Konoha proper.

"Where am I?" He asked his old team mate, glancing at her as she rubbed her wrist and watched him carefully.

"Naruto's old apartment. He kept it open in case of an emergency where he needed to stay hidden. He had me bring you here so that ANBU would not get you." A small look of distaste creased the edges of his mouth and Sakura did not like that one bit. "If it were not for him Sasuke you would be in a prison being held for interrogation. After all you have been through I would think you would appreciate having a save place to recover despite its condition." Sasuke let her finish her rant and just looked at her with that dead face not saying a word. She couldn't hold the stare and looked away.

It was silent in the room for a long time. Sakura went about her business of trying to clean the place up and preparing a poultice for Sasuke's considerable wounds. Sasuke just stared into space, his mind trying to grasp the last message of his brother. He was confused and conflicted. On one hand he hated Itachi and on the other he admired and loved him. Sakura couldn't take the silence anymore and interrupted his thinking.

"I have to say this now. I don't know what may happen a day or an hour from now, so I need to get this out while I can." Sasuke watched her quietly while she took a breath and began. "When you left all those years ago, you hurt a lot of people. I don't know if you knew it or not, but a lot of people cared and loved you. You always talked about getting revenge and how you were an avenger. You always sat and brooded how you were alone. Well Naruto was alone for as long as he could remember. We became the only family he had. The family he wanted. And you and he became the real friends I never had. To Kakashi, we were his students. The ones to pass on his legacy and his knowledge. To the common villagers you were the last of their greatest protectors. Their hope for a strong future. You meant more to people than I think you knew."

She still couldn't look at him, but felt is eyes boring into her and slowly started to apply the healing compound to his arms and legs. "So then you left. Naruto lost a part of his family, I lost one of my only friends, Kakashi lost faith in him self and felt he failed you and the village blamed all of us for your actions."

"We looked for you for a long time. We went to great lengths and great danger to try and track you down. All the time we were scared that we would fail and Orochimaru would steal your soul, all for your vengeance." Sasuke got a little angry at this, but Sakura raised her hand to stall his words. "I am not saying that your quest was wrong. I hold no judgment for that. It was something very personal that you needed to do. What I really want to know is…" Sasuke saw a tear fall from her hung head and land on the sheets. "Were we really that bad that you couldn't stay with us? Do you hate us that much that you would throw us all away?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a long time and she gave up and turned away to go to the refrigerator. As she opened it up and the light brightened the room considerably he answered. "No, you were not."

Sakura's body shook and she turned around angrily. "Then tell me why? You owe us that at least! Why did you leave us? Why couldn't you grow strong here?" Her tears were a virtual flood now and Sasuke had to push down the queasiness he felt as he saw them.

"I could not grow when I was pampered. I could not grow when I was limited by something as insignificant as rank and took on foolish missions where more time was spent walking from place to place than on missions. Anything I asked for I got. Except for the one thing I needed. The freedom to train and pursue my goal. It was constantly denied to me."

"Sakura. I will tell you the same thing that I told Naruto. This village has grown rotten and tainted. You and Naruto are protected from the ugly side of things. You are children standing in the dark, refusing to step into the light for fear of being blinded. My brother gave up everything for this village. The same village that would order the slaughter of my clan just out of fear." Sakura gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, shaking her head in denial at the awful truth revealed to her.

"Yes Sakura. The village ordered the destruction of my clan and used by brother to do it." He smiled slightly, taking a small bit of pleasure in seeing her discomfort.

"So that's why…" She left the question unspoken they both knew what she meant.

"There is more to it than that, and I have revealed enough for now. Where is the dobe?" Sakura gave a little hiccup of laughter through her distress at the name.

"I don't know. He was ok after you two…he was ok and I sent him to go to the hospital. He always recovers fast so he should be here soon." She set a bowl of soup in front of him and he took a sip finding it delightfully pleasant.

"I have to know." Sakura once again interrupted his thoughts. "What are you going to do with Naruto once he gets here?" Sasuke didn't answer and kept eating his soup. "Just so you know in order to protect myself and Naruto I've placed some seals on you. They prevent you from molding chakra. So you will not be able to use your Sharingan on him." Sasuke's eyes bore into hers relentlessly as she said that. She wanted to turn away but found that it was impossible. She wanted to apologize to him, but she had far too strong a will to do that.

Sasuke continued the hard stare for a moment longer and turned away towards his bowl. Sakura visibly sagged in relief and started to eat her own food. A moment later there was a knock on the door. Sakura tensed and got a kunai ready. Sasuke tried to get into a defensible position but was too weak. There was another impatient knock and an urgent whisper to open the door made Sakura bolt over and throw it open. Naruto darted in and closed it behind him. To the blonds surprise the pink haired Nin threw her self on him in a crushing hug. He smiled sheepishly and awkwardly patted her back and then pushed her away.

"The village is in chaos right now with the death of Danzo and those old bags they called advisors. Baa-chan is working on regaining order among the shinobi. She is taking the initiative and cleaning up ROOT once and for all. They really stand out now in their panic over Danzo's death, we are going to lose a lot of ANBU and Chunnin. He had fully a fourth of the village shinobi under his control. It's pretty bad." Naruto shook his head and threw his coat over a chair. He could feel eyes on him from the moment he walked in, but waited to look at his friend while be explained the situation to Sakura. He finally turned to see Sasuke looking hatefully at him, with a hand balled tightly into a fist. She was sad at the reaction, but it was understandable after the fight they just had.

"I've told the ANBU and the Hokage that it was remnants of ROOT who attacked me. I was able to put out your Ameratsu fires with great difficulty so they wouldn't know. They believed it since there was an attempt of the Hokage's life late last night. So you're in the clear for now Sasuke."

"Why are you covering up for me?" The Uchiha asked. "It is a weakness. I killed Danzo and the Advisors. You should had turned me over to ANBU." Sasuke knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Naruto. Naruto sighed.

"I thought it might have been you when you showed up on the training ground." Naruto said. "I didn't know why until that little scene with Itachi in our head. Yes I saw it to." Naruto said when he noticed Sasuke's surprised look. "So that was the big secret. I always thought it was a little suspicious that an entire clan could be killed in one night with the entire village unaware." He pursed his lips before continuing.

"They ordered the death of your family and clan. Didn't they Sasuke?" Sasuke didn't reply just turned to look at the sheets, his fingernails drawing blood in his palm from be clenched so tightly. "Thought so." Continued Naruto. "Well then as far as I am concerned good riddance to them."

Sasuke's head jerked up quickly and stared incredulously as the new jounin. "Don't look so surprised Sasuke. You should know me well enough to realize that I don't stick up for people like them." He took a bowl of soup from Sakura and smiled thankfully at her.

"Sasuke. The gloves are off now. Things seem to be moving very fast. They took Na'omi, the eight tails. Tell us how to get her back." Sasuke frowned and gritted his teeth.

"I was not aware that she was to be taken. I told her to stay in the village and close to you." He said. Both Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped at that tid bit of information.

"I don't understand!" The two leaf shinobi replied at the same time.

"It's simple Naruto. I could have taken her when my team confronted her in the Swamp Country. I used my Tsukiyomi to give her a message to come to the Leaf village. That she would find shelter here. I no more wanted her to be captured by Madara than you did. This is a set back."

"Wow Sasuke. Why did you sent her here? Aren't you working for Madara? Isn't he in your clan?" Sakura asked. Sasuke scoffed at the notion with a distasteful face.

"I am an avenger. The crimes against my clan had to be settled. Only Madara is left now. He helped Itachi kill my family. I mean to see him dead." The Uchiha said grimly.

"Then why did you attack Naruto? Why did you try to take him?" Sakura raged disbelievingly.

"I didn't."

"W-What?" Naruto stammered out.

"You are still an idiot Naruto. Haven't you wondered why I attacked in the morning, before you were tired out from training? I could have taken you last night while you slept. I was right outside your window. You had it wide open."

Naruto and Sakura had that confused look of two idiots, who couldn't wrap their mind around a simple idea.

"Baka!" Sasuke said. "You and I had unfinished business Naruto. The Valley of the End was not a proper finish to me. I needed to know who was stronger." Sasuke looked troubled and angry. "How did you get the Sharingan Naruto? That belongs to my clan you should not have it!" Naruto thought back to his encounter with Itachi in the woods before answering.

"Before you fought and killed Itachi I met him in the woods. He asked me some questions and warned me that you might attack the village. For some reason he gave some of his power to me. In case I had to fight you. It's a good thing he did I guess after what you tried to do to me!" Naruto pinned the Uchiha down with a piercing glare, reminding Sasuke that he had tried to seal him away forever inside his eyes.

Sasuke ignored the implications of that attack and instead focused on what Itachi gave Naruto. "So he gave you the Mangekyou Sharingan?! Our family's greatest power! He had no right! You will give it back!"

"I didn't even know what he gave me! It triggered on its own when you used that genjutsu on me! And I don't have it anymore! It was a one time thing. I felt it leave and get used up after everything." Naruto told him. Sakura just kept looking back and forth between the two not sure what they were talking about. She asked, but Naruto said he would explain everything later. The blond decided to shift the subject back to the important stuff.

"Na'omi Sasuke. How do we find her and bring her back?" He asked.

"I do not know. I was not informed they were taking her, or of the location of the draining. They kept all of that knowledge from me. Madara never fully trusted me. Besides, you don't want to save someone like her."

"What do you mean someone like her? She was a good person and helped me out! She saved my life!"

"She saved your life and befriended you under my orders. But she is not a good person. She was every bit as vile as Orochimaru."  
"Lair!" Naruto stood up quickly and Sasuke raised his hand to defend himself.

"Naruto…" Sakura said quietly. "I think Sasuke is telling the truth."

"What?! How can you say that Sakura-chan?" The blond demanded.

"I fought that Kunoichi Karin in the forest while you and Sasuke were having a go at it. She told me the same thing. She said that Na'omi was a vile and evil person who would steal youth from people to stay young.

"Then she was lying!" he retorted. Sasuke's cynical laugh broke back into the conversation at this point.

"Naruto. Where do you think Orochimaru gained the knowledge to complete the body transfer Jutsu? He met the eight-tails decades ago and in exchange for her knowledge of the life draining techniques of her bijuu he would give her a place to hide and bodies to drain to stay alive. I found all this out when I was with him. She is disgusting in her habits. She even took the youth from Karin, my comrade in the forest after she saved you. She killed her family and child to stay young and dined on children more than most since they had the stronger life force."

Naruto sat down heavily, his legs giving out from under him. "B-But she helped me so much. She told me all about the Kyuubi and the Bijuus." He said weakly, not wanting to believe he had been so fooled.

"Most of it was a lie." Sasuke drove the point in more. "Knowing all this now, do you still want to find her and risk the lives of Leaf Shinobi getting her back?" Naruto thought about this for a moment before answering.

"No. She can rot in hell and I hope everyone she has killed will torment her forever." The container said savagely. Sasuke nodded and the three went back to their meals in silence.

When they were finished Naruto got up and paced back and forth before stopped and turning to her former comrade.

"So what about you now?" he asked. Sasuke thought for a moment and shrugged slightly.

"I will go after Madara and end this."

"You can't do it alone Sasuke. He is way too strong. He attacked Konoha and took a ring back like it was an everyday stroll in the woods for him. He went up against the entire village alone and killed seven ANBU and like twenty Chunnin all by himself. His space/time jutsu is more advanced than the 4ths… Sasuke he has an affinity for it."

"What? Impossible there is no affinity for space/time." The Uchiha said.

"Looks like Orochimaru neglected to train you on that point huh? It's real enough, but very rare and only few people were known to have it. All of them are regarded as some of the strongest ninja ever. The Yodaime and Salamander Hanzo were two of them. Madara has his own version of the Hirashin No Jutsu that the Yodaime used to defeat an entire army in seconds!" Sasuke looked worried and disturbed by this news. He couldn't stand up to something like that. His plans quickly began to fall apart. He asked about Karin. Sakura explained to Sasuke how she defeated Karin and left her for ANBU to find. She told him how Karin was supposed to kill him and take his eyes after he defeated Naruto, so he no longer had her as a resource, or the element of surprise. In one morning months of planning fell apart. He was brooding when Naruto badgered him about that old useless point once more.

"Sasuke. Come back to the village! We need you!" Naruto implored. Sasuke snarled at the plea.

"To this place? The place that stood by as my entire clan and family were murdered? You are still the idiot!"

"NO!" Naruto declared loudly. "That place began to die with Danzo and the Advisors! This is the time Sasuke! We can make the changes together! We can make sure that something like that never happens again! We never gave up on you Sasuke. Even though you betrayed us, we stuck by your side even if we couldn't stand by it. Has anyone ever done that for you? You can start a new life and still kill Madara with us. We can do it together! There is no reason to be alone anymore!" Naruto sat on the bed and grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

"Stay here! Return to the village!" he pleaded again. Sasuke shook his head and slapped the arms away.

"I loath this place. It is vile and I would sooner see it burn that be under its eyes again. Besides the village would never accept me. The Fifth would lock me away and interrogate me. I have no desire for that." He argued.

"You let me deal with them. I can get Baa-chan and the Hyuuga clan on your side. People wont raise too much of a fuss by going against them. It's true that a lot of people and shinobi wont like you or trust you, but you will have to work hard to earn it again. And I've never known you to back down from a challenge."

"That's just it. Didn't you learn by now that you don't know me? No one does. I am tired of trying to press these ideas into your tiny skull. I don't care about you or Konoha."

"Liar." Sakura spoke up. "You even admitted that your comrades and the village weren't so bad. You just can't let it go can you Sasuke? You already got most of the revenge for your clan. How much misery do you have to put yourself through before you're willing to start living? You defeated your brother, your one of the strongest shinobi in the land, what more do you want?"

Sasuke shook his head and sneered at the mini-Tsunade. "Could you live every day staring at the very people who crushed your life? Look them in the eye as they throw false accolades and smile their false-smiles? No Sakura. You and Naruto need to grow up. Not everything-" He was interrupted by a snort from Naruto.

"Still the emo-king aren't you Sasuke. Well I don't by it one bit. You're just playing to the crowd now. The pity party has run out of fuel for you. I KNOW that the happiest times of your life where in this village and on Team 7. And I KNOW that we can build it all back. All you have to do is say yes and stop being such a fucking drama-queen. Every Shinobi in this village has lost precious people and been through hell and back in their lives. You tell us to grow up? Move on Sasuke. You can kill everyone and everything and leave the world a wasteland and it still won't make you feel any better."

Sasuke stared in shocked outrage at Naruto, the blood rushing to his face and he ignored the pain of his body as his hand shot out at Naruto's throat. Sakura cried out in concern, but Naruto just batted the hand away and grabbed the so called avenger by the front of his shirt and stared hard into those murky dark eyes.

"Take the offer Sasuke. I'm done playing nice. WE. WANT. YOU. BACK! This is the final time I will throw aside everything you've done and use my influence to secure you a place in the village. If you turn this down now, it all stops. Don't think that you can pick and choose when to come home. You have to pick now. This minute." Naruto was breathing heavy into the argument face of the last Uchiha.

"They will execute me."

"No they won't."

"They will interrogate me."

"They will debrief you."

"They won't let me leave the village."

"Madara will come to you."

"They won't trust me."

"Earn it back." Naruto just kept stomping on all of Sasuke's excuses. Sasuke put on his stoic expression and looked solemnly out the window debating this choice. Despite all his claims about hating the village he really wanted this. He did miss his time back with team 7. If worse came to worse and he couldn't take it anymore he could always leave again. They couldn't stop him three years ago, they sure as hell couldn't stop him now.

"Very…" He took another breathe. "Very well. GET OFF ME!" He tried to pry and shove his two team mates off as they were smothering him in some kind of group hug that made him sick just from being apart of it.

"YES!" Naruto yelled and jumped for joy. Grinning like a mad man.

"Hmph. Still the clown." Sasuke said sarcastically

"Hey!" Naruto broke in with a sly prankster grin. "Who's the one that just kicked your ass?"

"What?! You dobe!" Sasuke's eyes seemed to glow anew with the fires of their old rivalry. "You only beat me because of Itachi's Sharingan! You're still dead last!" The two glared harshly at each other, sparks seemed to fly between as their glares deepened. A giggle caused them to turned those glares to Sakura, who was holding her mouth. Her shoulders and eyes quivering with mirth.

"What?" They said together.

"You two!" She replied. "All these years apart and you go right back at it again!" She settled down and smiled serenely. "It's good to see again. I missed it more than words can say." The two boys huffed, folded their arms and looked away from each other. Sakura had to laugh again, it was all too familiar.

"Well now!" The three jumped in startlement to see Kakashi standing with his arms folded in the door-way. "I am glad that is all settled." He walked in and shut the door. "Sakura is right. It is good to see this again."

"Ah! Ah! Kakashi sensei! I can explain everything!" Naruto said nervously looking between he jounin and his former student who were staring at each other with mixed expressions. Kakashi just waved the blond off.

"I heard everything. I followed Sakura when she first brought him here." He walked over to the hesitant Uchiha. Slowly his hand reached out and sat on the teen's shoulder. "Sasuke. It is good to have you back." The two broke into a slight smile. It seemed to seal everything in some mysterious agreement.

The four of them sat down and talked. They talked for hours catching up over the years and trying to reestablish that bond that had been damaged over the course of time. There was an air of peace. A feeling of serenity among them as feelings long dormant was finally released. Team seven was reunited at last.

--

--

Four ANBU found the scene first. They just stood around the body and bowed their heads. They gave a moment of revered silence for Kushina, the wife of the Fourth. One of them removed their mask and knelt down next to her.

"Kushina-sama…" Anko said. She stared into the calm face and lifeless eyes and reached out to close them. She would engrave this image in her head forever. It was the image of a Shinobi who had died honorably and for a cause so profound that it calmed a trouble and fractured heart. She reached her arms under the Kunoichi and lifted the body. She turned to the other three ANBU with her and they headed back to the village. Solemnly not saying a word. They knew this death was going to cause a great deal of trouble for the village and one certain young man.

--

--

Tsunade listened to the report with a heavy heart. She stared down at the body of Kushina and then at the message she wrote down as the fallen Kunochi's summon told it to her. She was dead, but her life had given her son a fighting chance at survival. The threat of this Pain was ever present in their minds. Hovering out of sight, but always the last thought of the night before sleep settled in.

They knew now. They knew the location of Pain's real body. Still Tsunade tucked the message away and sighed sadly. She would wait until things settled down, but she would have to tell Naruto. The gods only knew what would happen then. She started the trek back to her office and called for Yamoto and Kakashi. While she waited she listened to various reports on the battle with the remnants of ROOT and reassigned ANBU teams where they were needed and sent Chunnin teams throughout the village to calm things down and pass out the truth to stop wild rumors from spreading. Finally Yamoto showed up, but Kakashi could not be found to her resentment.

"You wished to see me Hokage-sama?" The under cover ANBU asked.

"Yes. Take a seat please I am unpleasant news." He complied and she formulated her thoughts into words. "There is no easy way to say this, but Namikaze Kushina is dead. She died fighting an Akatsuki agent who infiltrated the village." Yamoto sat stunned. He knew right away why she summoned him then.

"Naruto will be crushed! This news could shatter the seal completely and pull him into his full Bijuu form!" he said urgently. Tsunade confirmed this with a nod.

"We will need you to stop that from happening. This will be an S-rank assignment for you. You are not to leave his side at all once the news as been delivered. We will supply you with soldier pills if your chakra gets low, but day and night it will be up to you to keep the Nine-tails at bay. If you fail the village could well be destroyed. Realize that this assignment could be weeks long. Naruto ill be wanting time alone, but you are not to give this to him. Stay discreetly back, but don't let him leave your sight no matter how hard he tries."

"Understood Godaime-sama."

"There is more." She said and he waited.

"A few hours ago Kakashi notified me that he saw Sakura carrying who he believed to be Sasuke to places unknown. I think Naruto lied to us about the ROOT attack on him this morning. It was Sasuke who attacked and Naruto has him hidden someplace. At this moment Naruto probably has all of his dreams coming true. A girl friend, a home, respect of the village, a mother and his best friend returned. This is going to shatter that for him. Please be understanding, especially if Naruto can not convince him to stay in the village."

"Godaime-sama. I do not mean to question you, but is it wise to allow the Uchiha in the village? Reports have confirmed that he is an agent for Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara."  
"I won't be able to decide that until I speak with Naruto and the team. You are not to inform anyone about this. Nor will you inform Naruto about Kushina. I will tell him. "

Yamoto nodded hesitantly. "As you wish."

"You are dismissed." The powerful jounin left the office and Tsunade and sat with her head in her hands. _'Will Naruto end up like me?'_ She thought. _'Will he lose each of his friends and family till he is all alone?' _She preyed with all her heart it wouldn't be so.

-

--

-

Hinata marched through the town on a war path. The normally shy and polite young kunochi was a changed girl. Her eyes a blaze of fury as she sought her boy-boyfriend. She had woken up this morning to an empty bed, and empty house and a war torn training ground. She had be accosted at the battle-site by chunnin investigators and they had informed her that Naruto had been attacked by ROOT early in the morning and he was sent to the hospital due to injuries. She hurried to the white washed building immediately. He hands clasped in worry for her Naruto only to find that he had left already.

She was furious with him. He had been in a fight, had almost been killed and had been hurt and when he was discharged he hadn't even bothered to find her and let her know he was alright. She had just spent the last two hours using her blood line and all her resources searching for him to no avail. _'He better not be with another woman.'_ She raged in her mind. This stopped her for a moment. "Why am I thinking that? Naruto would never do that." She said out load. She shook the thought off and continued her search. She knew her thoughts and actions lately were not herself, but couldn't bring herself to speak to Naruto about them.

"Hinata?" She turned to see her team-mate Kiba walking along the street. Her heart swelled in hope. He was the answer to her prayers! If he couldn't find Naruto then he could help her with her problem.

"Kiba-kun!" She smiled at him. "I am glad you are here. I need your help!"

"Sure Hinata." She said while Akamaru stopped and eyes the girl curiously.

"Have you scene Naruto-kun? There was a fight this morning and I can't find him anywhere." She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Hinata. With everything that's been going on I haven't seen him. I'd help you look, but I've been ordered on a population control mission." She shrugged apologetically.

"A population control mission? What has happened?" She asked.

"You mean you haven't heard?" She shook her head no. "Wow, you're really out of it. Some old man named Danzo and the Hokage's advisors were killed last night. And that woman Na'omi was kidnapped by Akatsuki. The whole village is in chaos at the moment. From what I am told some group called ROOT even betrayed the village and tried to kill the Fifth." Hinata shook her head and dismissed all the news.

"But what about Naruto-kun?" She implored. Kiba looked at her strangely and just shrugged.

"No idea. I am sure he is around someplace." He said. Hinata bit her lip and her body shook a bit. She hated to do this, but she had to go with Plan B. She looked Kiba over carefully and nodded. He would do. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him to an ally with lots of shadows.

"H-Hey! Hinata! What's going on?" He asked, but she just ignored him. Akamaru whined a bit, but followed carefully.

Hinata finally found a good spot and let go of Kiba. He looked at her like she was crazy for a moment.

"Hinata. What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong! I just need your help with something real quick!" Her eyes and body begged him desperately.

"Anything Hinata." He was always willing to help his team mates.

"Good." Quickly she took off her jacket and lifted lifted up her shirt to expose her pale skin and light pink bra to her team-mate.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kiba said and adverted his eyes. "Hinata! What the hell is wrong with you? Put you're clothes back on! You dating Naruto remember!"

"He isn't here and I can't find him anywhere! Please Kiba! I need someone! Anyone!" She stepped forward and pressed her body seductively against his. Kiba looked in horror and then anger at Hinata. He shoved her away and glared, ignoring her half nude form.

"Oh really? Anyone huh? What about Naruto huh? What about our friendship? Did you think about that?" Hinata felt smaller and smaller at the berating she was getting. She looked down in shame and started to poke her fingers together again. A motion she hadn't done in some time.

"I-I can't help it Kiba-kun. P-please."

Kiba started to feel bad, but noticed a strange glint in her eyes. She was acting! He couldn't believe it. She had a small of desperation around her. This was not Hinata at all. It was her scent yes, but something was wrong. She grabbed his arm and looked at him with the fake eyes and false tears. He shook her off and snarled.

"Hinata! Something is wrong. You need to talk to someone. Put your clothes back on. I'm not gonna betray Naruto, just so you can get some kind of sexual high!" His vision suddenly swam and he found himself on the ground. He could hear Akamaru barking. He realized he had been slapped. When his vision finally focused he looked up to see Hinata putting her shirt and jacket back on.

"Fine!" She snapped down at him. "If you won't help me then I will find someone who will!" She started to storm away till his next words brought her up short.

"You do and I will tell Naruto. His nose is pretty good to you know. He will smell it on you." She looked back in shock and worry.

"B-But Kiba!" Her nervousness wasn't feigned this time.

"Don't 'but' me, your betraying Naruto. The guy who didn't leave your side the whole time you were in the hospital. Frankly. You disgust me Hinata." Kiba jumped on Akamaru's back and looked over at his team mate before leaping away. Hinata was crushed by the words. _'I've gotta find Kurenie-sensei and tell her what's going on._' He thought as he left the ally. He jumped to the roof tops and headed to her house.

In the ally Hinata just kept playing the scene over and over in her mind. _'How could I have done something like that? He's right I was going to betray Naruto-kun. I am disgusting!'_ She headed back to the Hyuuga compound, people dodged out of her way as she ran through the streets tears streaming down her face. When she got to the compound she ignored the worried questions of the guards and the servants and stumbled to her home. Her father and Hanabi tried to confront her as she ran through the front door, but she just pushed past them and ran to her room.

_'Why do I feel this way? Why do I always need 'that''?_ She thought as she lay on her bed and hugged her pillow tightly. Eventually she got up and headed to her private bathing room. She stepping out of her clothes and sunk graciously into the steamy tub. The hot water soaking into her skin. Sniffling her tears still she picked up the soak and started to scrub. She scrubbed and scrubber harder. '_I'm so disgusting…'_ She ignored the raw feeling on her skin. _'Kiba-kun was right…I'm too disgusting! Why can't I ever feel clean anymore?'_ She tore at her skin with the rag till it was a light red as she started to bleed lightly. Finally she threw the rag and soap across the room and started to sob. _'Naruto-kun! I'm so sorry!'_ She hugged herself tightly, rocking back and forth in the misty room.

The sliding door to her room was open just a crack and Hanabi watched the scene silently. Her own tears making their way down her cheeks. "Sister…" She whispered. She needed to find Naruto-sensei.

-

--

-

"Well this has been fun." Kakashi said standing up. We can continue this another time, but for now Sasuke, we need to take you to see the Hokage. The entire room could see Sasuke stiffen at the proposition, but he reluctantly nodded.

"Don't worry Sasuke." Naruto said cheerfully. "I won't let then do anything bad to you." The Uchiha glared at the blond.

"I do not need your protection." He said. Sakura and Kakashi cringed.

"Yeesh! Don't be so touchy. I was just saying." Naruto replied.

"Then don't say." The two teens silently glared at each other before turning away. Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes with Sakura. Some things never change, they both thought. Kakashi informed them that they would be taking a back way to the tower, to avoid most of the Chunnin patrols. When Naruto asked about ANBU Kakashi informed him that they would not confront them while he was in their company and that they would be informed of Sasuke's location soon enough anyways. Reluctantly the trio agreed with their old sensei and they left the apartment.

They were darting through the shadows when Naruto broached the subject and question they had all been wondering since Orochimaru's death.

"Sasuke. When you left to join that snake, did you really intent to have him steal your soul?"

"Of course not. Don't be more of an idiot by asking stupid questions."

"Hey! It isn't a stupid question!" Kakashi and Sakura side glanced to the blond. _'He didn't even defend himself being called an idiot'_ Sakura thought wryly.

"So why did you say you were then?" Naruto continued to hammer in the questions. They passed for a moment to let some locals pass.

"It was an act. A role. If Orochimaru thought for one moment that I wasn't sincere in my obligation to him He would have kept me caged till he was ready to take over my body and I wouldn't have been strong enough to stop him."

"Oooooh!" Naruto said as realization dawned on him. The other three just shook their heads at his slow mind.

"Yes 'ooooh'" Sasuke said sarcastically. They finally arrived at the tower. Sasuke took a long look at the five faces on the stone before following them. It was a quiet and solemn march towards her office. Each of them wondering what would happen and what would be said. Several chunnin gaped when they saw Sasuke, but no one said anything due to Kakashi's glare. They all knew that soon the word would be racing through the village that Sasuke was back. No one could really know if the population would be happy or angry to have him back.

They turned the final corner before Kakashi brought them to a halt and addressed the Uchiha.

"No matter what is said in there Sasuke you must swallow your pride. Do not speak unless the Fifth addressed you. This is going to be very delicate. She probably already knows that you are back. If you see Ibiki or any ANBU in there ignore them. They will be trying to get a response out of you and a negative one at that. Can you do this?" Sasuke nodded impatiently and waved the group forward.

Naruto ground his teeth as they got closer to the door. There were two ANBU guards on either side that blocked them from entering.

"We require that Uchiha Sasuke be confined in cuffs before entering Godaime-sama's presence." The one on the right spoke. Naruto thought the voice sounded vaguely familiar, but couldn't place it. Sakura took over at this point.

"He is confined by Chakra seals that you can confirm. He has minimal chakra and can not mold it properly. These are a better safe-guard that cuffs. I give you my word and will stake my life on Tsunade-sama's safety. Please let us pass." The two ANBU looked at each other and moved over to Sasuke, who stiffened under the scrutiny. The one who spoke performed a simple seal and lines around Sasuke's face and arms began to glow faintly confirming the seals. The group could feel the glares on the dark haired youth, but reluctantly opened the door to the Hokage's office and let them pass.

Kakashi lead the way followed by Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura brought up the rear. The only others in the room were Yamoto and Tsunade and Shizune. Thankfully Ibiki was not there at the moment and everyone eased slightly. The Fifth was going through some reports and signing a bunch of papers as they filed in a line in front of her. They stood quietly for a minute till she finished and put the pen down. She nodded to Shizune who took a stack and hurried out of the room. The Fifth finally looked at the group as the door closed and pursed her lips.

"So. The prodigy has returned." It was a statement and no one dared speak yet. "I must say, your nerve is astounding Sasuke. You betray us to join Orochimaru, you betray him to kill Itachi and join Akatsuki, and if what I believe is happening right now, you attacked Naruto this morning and are now betraying Akatsuki to join us. Yes very astounding indeed." She finished up, those violent eyes absorbing the Uchiha.

When she put it all that Naruto and Sakura shifted uncomfortably. It did sound bad indeed. Naruto started to step up, but Kakashi stopped him from ruining the situation.

"Godaime-sama." The masked jounin said. "What you say is true, Sasuke has indeed returned and wishes to beg admittance into our ranks." Tsunade didn't say anything, just continued to stare at the Uchiha. Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and shifted those dark pools of his away and hung his head slightly. A defeated foe he looked now rather than a conquering king.

"So you know humility." The master medic said. "That is a start I suppose. Your crimes are great and grave Uchiha Sasuke. I do not know you like your former comrades do. I am not as willing to take your word on good faith alone. Why have your returned?" Sasuke didn't say anything.

"SPEAK!" The Hokage's voice thundered as strong as one of her punched. Everyone flinched and Sasuke's head snapped up and met her eyes. Naruto wondered that he didn't break his neck from the fast and sudden movement.

"I…" Sasuke couldn't seem to form the words properly. "I left with unfinished business and without permission. I went a path that I felt had to be followed. I have returned to fix those mistakes and try to walk a proper path once more." Tsunade snorted.

"Pretty words from a pretty face. But that could apply to anything. For all we know that means you are hear to destroy the village."

"He isn't!" Naruto spoke up. He tried to get the Hokage's attention, but she seemed to ignore him, refusing to meet his eyes. "Let him tell you his story! It all makes sense! Listen to it." Tsunade once more ignored him to his great irritation.

"Your arrival here is very suspicious." She resumed. "Just last night Danzo and the Advisors were murdered. Indeed, Danzo seems to have been killed by a lightning Natured Jutsu. Almost as if Kakashi's Rakiri had been shoved through his chest. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" She was leaning forward over her desk with those eyes drilling into him while she spoke. Sasuke licked his lips, but his face contorted into a hateful visage as he replied.

"Yes. I killed them. I gladly killed them and would killed them 100 times over. Once for every Uchiha that was murdered by their orders!" Tsunade didn't seem that surprised, but none the less looked troubled by the news.

"Their orders? Are you saying that nine years ago Itachi killed your clan on the orders of Danzo and the advisors?" Sasuke nodded slowly. His face still a mask of hate and misery and defiance. "Preposterous. The Third would never have condoned an attack on an entire clan. His views were always of peace!"

"The Third was not aware of the attack until it happened. Afterwards he had no way to contradict or go against his own team mates and Danzo without risking a civil war in the village. So he pardoned them and condoned the massacre." Sasuke said. Tsunade looked pensive and sat back to think it over. She ran through what she knew of the events back then in her head. She was not in the village at that time and went over the parts of the files she remembered. She also remembered several inconsistencies that didn't seem to add up. A fire that was not put out, the mysterious relocation of Chunnin patrols. The lack of ANBU response. It all seemed very suspicious to her when she went over them after Sasuke left, but she had put them out of her mind until now. Slowly she began to see everything in a new light. She still didn't know why however.

"Why would they have ordered this? And how could they have convinced Itachi to go along with the plan?" She asked.

"That is a long story and will take some time to explain. But I will do my best." The others all took seats and watched as Sasuke stood in the center of the room to relate the tale.

He told them of the night he found his parents death and what Itachi had did and said to him. He told them of what he suspected, of how there must have been another to help him on the mission. His story took the better part of an hour. Of his fight with Itachi, of the oddness of the conversation. He regaled them with the tale of his waking up and meeting Madara and how the ancient Uchiha explained in whole the truth to him. His story finally ended with him coming to seek out Naruto to finish the battle that had taken place in the Valley of the End and how he had never intended to capture the nine-tails for Madara and how he sent Na'omi to look over the blond to keep her out of Madara's hands.

It was a very enlightening hour indeed for the gathered group. Everything seemed to be coming together. The forming of the village, the fight with Madara, the Bijuu and the nine tails attack, the creation of Naruto as a Jinkuurki. It was like one long pattern leading up to the present day. They could almost grasp the truth of the puzzle, but the key of it all was just out of reach. They were in awe however of Madara's patience and careful planning the past century. It was almost god-like in subtlety.

"Well." Tsunade said after it was finished. "That was certainly a tale. I believe that I will allow you this once chance at redemption. Make no mistake this is redemption we are speaking of Sasuke. You have many mistakes to make up for and a great deal of trust to earn if you wish to return fully to the Leaf. This is against my better judgment to allow you back. You did after all murder the advisors. Danzo was a traitor currently, but by our laws the Advisors followed them, if they did bend them in protecting the village against a possible uprising."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at those words, but he did as Kakashi told him and didn't speak, but swallowed his pride.

"I do this mainly for Naruto's and Sakura's sake. They seem to have a great deal of trust in you and I in them. Uchiha Sasuke. You will be reinstalled with a probationary period not to exceed three years. You will be assigned a special Chunnin rank with the duties that it implies. You will patrol the village with a squad and will not leave the area without special permission and an escort. You will allow yourself to be tailed by a single ANBU specialist who will watch your moves until I deem otherwise. Three times a week for a period of three hours you will attend the academy and aid with the instruction of the students there. You will periodically be assigned missions and will be expected to inform us of anything you know regarding Akatsuki and Madara. Do you have any objections to these terms?" Her brow lifted at the question, as if daring him to say otherwise.

Everyone could see he was not pleased by the strict demands, but he nodded curtly.

"Good. Ibiki!" She shouted. Everyone flinched and Naruto rose in objection as the scared interrogator entered the room.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto protested, but she sliced a hand through the air silencing him.

"Do not worry. He will NOT harm Sasuke. Will you Ibiki?" He eyes pinned the pan in the doorway. He looked disgruntled, but nodded. "Sasuke, Ibiki will debrief you on everything you knew of Orochimaru and Akatsuki. He will not be using any harmful methods, but if will be able to tell if you are lying or holding anything back. It will be as if you are being debriefed after an especially long mission. Ok?" Sasuke nodded, still quietly accepting his role. He took a step back, bowed and walked out of the room with Ibiki, shutting the door behind him. Naruto smiled over at the Fifth and tried to thank her.

"Thanks Granny-Tsunade! You won't regret this! I have absolute faith in him!" Tsunade seemed to ignore that as well and still wouldn't meet his eyes. She looked instead at Yamoto. He nodded and walked over to stand behind Naruto. Kakashi noted this and, being the genius he was, knew that they were about to hear some bad news that might send Naruto into his tailed form. He motioned for Sakura to leave Naruto's side and come over by him. She looked at him curiously but complied and sat over in a chair leaving Naruto alone on the couch. The blond looked behind him and over at Kakashi and Sakura oddly.

"Eh?! What's going on? I feel like I'm about to get grilled like Sasuke was!" Kakashi and Sakura looked over at the Fifth who had her head bowed and was stalling for some reason. A terrible inkling began to invade Kakashi's mind. He was scared that he knew what had happened. Naruto however was getting slightly frustrated and stood up and walked over to the Hokage's desk.

"Baa-chan. What's going on? Why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not Naruto." She said softly, still looking away.

"Then why haven't you looked at me once since we came in? Why can't you look me in the eyes?" He looked slightly angry.

"Please Naruto." She said compassionately. "Sit down." She braved meeting his eyes and he grew slightly nervous by the look in them. He hadn't ever seen that look from her before. He slowly walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Is this about Sasuke?" She shook her head softly. Naruto studied her face closely and looked behind him at Yamoto, who looked grim and couldn't meet his eyes either. He swiveled his head back towards the desk and the woman behind it. "What the hell's going on?" His hands tightened automatically, as if bracing for a blow.

Tsunade didn't think she would ever be able to get the words out. Her lower lips trembled and she couldn't stop her eyes from glassing up with unspilt tears. She saw that Naruto noticed her hesitation and he fidgeted while he waited for the news.

"Naruto." She said kindly. "It's about your mother." The room grew very still at the mention of Naruto's mother. Sakura suddenly understood and reached out blindly to grab Kakashi's Hand who bowed his head suddenly in grief. She immediately started to silently cry. She knew the look in her mentor's face, she had seen her deliver the sad news too many times, not to know what was going to be said.

Naruto however even stopped breathing. He was like a statue as he stared at Tsunade. When he finally started to breathe again. It was fast and heavy.

"Naruto…"Tsunade continued. "I'm afraid that she died this morning." She chocked out the words, almost unable to say them in her sorrow. Sakura sobbed suddenly and tried to get up to go to Naruto, but Kakashi held her down some reason. She looked over at him and he shook his head slightly. She could see a single tear escape his eyes as well.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Naruto said savagely, red tinted eyes bore down on Tsunade like an avalanche. "This isn't a funny joke! You can stop right now. I don't like it."

"N-Naruto-" Tsunade began.

"Don't Naruto me you old bag! My mom is fine! She is home making some of that nasty food she makes me eat! I'll prove it to you!" He ran to the window and jumped out, heading to his village before anyone could stop him.

"Naruto!" Tsunade cried holding out her hand beseeching his fleeing form. "Yamoto! Go after him quickly! Don't let him leave your sight. Restrain him if you have to!" She ordered. He was already to the window as she finished the order and chased after the rather quick blond. She sat back at the desk and buried her face in her hands, letting her grief show. Sakura, who remembered the kind and mischievous red-head buried her face in Kakashi's shoulder and let loose the full volume of tears.

-

Naruto raced through the village as fast as he could. His breath laboring and his heard colliding against his chest. He saw nothing except with was in front of him. His vision tunneled in on his home. _'She is wrong. She is alive! She isn't dead.'_ He thought. His mind raging against the Fifth and this perverse game. _'She promised me and in my family we keep our promises!'_

He landed in front of the house and dashed forward, kicking the door in and racing into the home.

"Mom! I'm home!" He ran to the kitchen to see it empty and silent. The house felt wrong in some way. He shook it off and ran upstairs past his room to his mother's "MOM!" He knocked her door open and franticly looked back and forth. His lip trembled and he walked over to the window and looked out into the garden. His one last hope. "Mom?" He got excited at a glint of red, till he saw it was just a bush with the sunlight reflecting off its leaves.

He collapsed on her bed, shaking his head back and forth. "No…no…no No NO NO NO!" He picked up a pillow and threw it across the room. It exploded in a cloud of feathers and Naruto fell to his knees on the floor.

"You promised me." He whispered. Is body shook and he felt the demon's chakra begin to boil up and envelope him. He ignored it and tried to find some way that Baa-chan was lying. He arched his back and raised his head as he fast spiraled out of control. His canines cracked and elongated and his eyes and moth took on a sinister outline and appearance. Slowly his skin started to peal away layer by layer by the powerful chakra.

He was just forming his fourth tail when Yamoto entered the upstairs bedroom. Cursing at how late he was He quickly put his hands together and summoned his Keke Genkai. Thick wooden beams erupted from the ground floor and shot through the ceiling to wrap themselves around Naruto. Quickly he switched it into the mode needed to restrain a Bijuu's chakra and started to apply the force to the red cloak that was half developed. Slowly, painstakingly he pushed it back, but it seemed much harder that ever. It was like Naruto was fighting him and wanted to become the demon fox.

Long minutes passed and Yamoto grunted, falling to his knees from the concentration needed, his Chakra pools almost depleted. He was almost there, but he might not make it. Naruto's hand shot up and trie4d to reach one of the pillars surround him to try and break them, but the ANBU's chakra prevented him from moving out of the center or touching anything. The blond was almost fully viable now and with a snap the chakra shield broke and the boy fell unconscious on the ground.

Yamoto gasped and fell on his hands and knees, breathing like he had just sprinted a hundred miles. "You were a tough one today weren't you Naruto?" he knew the blond was out, but still spoke out loud. It's going to be ok Kid. We will take care of you." He touched his finger to the side of his neck activating his wireless radio. He informed base to tell he Hokage that Naruto was safe and sound and that he was bringing the boy to the hospital. He gathered his strength and lifted the blond up, blood still oozing from his fractured skin.

"God you're a heavy one." Yamoto said as he left the house holding Naruto. He walked through the streets, not having the energy to run. Several people questioned him, but he ignored them stating it was a private matter. He was almost there when an unwelcome voice rang out.

"Naruto-kun!" he turned his head slightly to see Hyuuga Hinata running towards them. Her face was in shock and worry as she closed in on the pair. "W-What happened? Naruto-kun? Wake up?" She reached out to take the blond, but Yamoto pulled away.

"It would be best if he didn't wake up right now Hyuuga-san. He has had a very emotional morning and he needs rest and aid." She didn't seem to understand and bit her lip as she started to cry.

"I-I don't understand! W-What happened?" She beseeched the man she had only met a few times before during Naruto's training. He thought it over and figured regardless she would hear it anyways from someone else he told her.

"His mother was killed this morning."

"Oh no! Kushina-sama?" He face took on a horrified look. He nodded sadly at the young woman. Hinata tried to reach out again to Naruto, but again Yamoto stopped her.

"It is best if he gets immediate care. He will need to be sedated for a little while so he can rest properly. I must go quickly Hyuuga-san. I am sure you will be able to visit him soon. He will need all the support he can get."

Hinata reluctantly nodded and ran to get the door for the under-cover ANBU. He gave his thanks and took Naruto inside. It didn't take long for the hospital staff to usher him into a room and lay the boy on a bed. Sakura soon appeared and immediately took over. In seconds it seemed Naruto was stripped, set under some sheets and had an IV and some monitors attached to him. Sakura seemed to be a wreak, but focused all her attention on her friend. Yamoto took a seat in an out of the way corner and sat back. This was going to be a tedious assignment

-

An hour after Naruto was brought into the hospital Tsunade made her way to his room. As she rounded the corner in the hallway where he was staying she was immediately accosted by dozens of voices and faces swimming in a sea of concern. She made could make out Hinata and Hanabi. Nejii and Lee. Konoharmaru and his team. Ino and Shikamaru. In face most of the rookie 9 where there except for Kiba. She tried to raise her voice above their questions, but it went unheeded. Finally she had to resort to slapping the wall to silence the group. It did and very quickly at that. She always marveled how a little bit of violence could calm or clear a room.

"Before you all flap those mouths of yours I do not know anything. I am just now arriving. Once I know for sure what is wrong I will of course inform you all. In the mean time move out of my way before I move you. The path was cleared quickly, but she could hear the unspoken questions and concerns in the air. Shaking her head she walked into Naruto's room to be greeted by a heart breaking sight. The boy was unconscious from what she could only suspect was a consequence of being pulled forcefully out of his tailed form. She saw Yamoto in the corner taking a nap to the quiet humming of medical monitors. Sakura was in a seat by his side, watching him intently. She glanced up at her mentor and shook her head slightly.

Tsunade walked around to the IV and checked the medication. She raised her brows significantly at the heavy dosage he was receiving.

"Quiet the sedative you are using Sakura." She said quietly, looking down at the pink haired kunoichi.

"I had to. Anything less and his body just shrugs it off. Yamoto-sensei said that he went into his tailed form. He hasn't the strength to stop him again for awhile so I dared not take any chances of him waking up."

"I wouldn't worry about that. With what you have him on if he does wake him he is liable to think himself a monkey and climb the walls. Still it is a prudent move and won't harm him. Good work." Sakura just nodded at the compliment rather than the usual blush she showed. "How is he however?"

"Not good. His cranial functions were off the charts; his chakra coils were a mess and are still recovering. From what I can tell he is having a full mental collapse and if he wakes up it would only be complete."

"You're probably right." The master-medic replied taking off her coat and slipping on some plastic gloves. She went over and performed a single seal and pressed a glowing hand to his forehead. After a minute or so she ended the examination and shook her head sadly. "We are going to have to gradually bring him around over the next couple days. He needs to become lucid slowly so that the shock of his loss is spread out rather than abrupt. That should aid in keeping him out of his tailed form and in control of his mental facilities. I expected him to take the news hard, but not this hard."

"That's Naruto." Sakura said sadly, wiping away a stray tear. "I think it's more the fact that it is right on the heels of Jiraiya-sama's death and the fact that he just got her back only to lose her. It would be hard for anybody, but Naruto had always held onto his bonds far tighter than anyone else. He still misses Jiraiya. He doesn't talk about it at all, but every now and then he will get that far away look in his eyes, and I know he is thinking of him. He was like Naruto's father."

Tsunade nodded and laid a hand on the sitting medic's shoulder. They both stared down at the blond. "Stay here with him Sakura. I will go let the crowd outside know that he is ok." Sakura nodded absently and went back to her silent vigil.

Tsunade walked back outside, into the hall and everyone rose from their seats. "He is going to be just fine." She told the group. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the barrage of questions came again. She raised her hand and they quieted down after a few seconds. "As to the reason he is in the hospital it seems he had a small mental break down. Early this morning his mother, Namikaze Kushina was slain by an Akatsuki agent." Everyone in the room gasped. Tsunade noted that Hinata seemed to already know and was hanging her head looking forlornly at the door to Naruto.

"Was the enemy capture or killed in retaliation?" Nejii asked her. Tsunade nodded.

"Kushina-san was able to defeat the woman. From the reports we got her name was Konon, one of the top Nin in their hierarchy. That she was defeated is a good thing, but I for one feel that Kushina's death was far too high a price to pay for the victory." The fifth stated. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Go-Godaime-sama." Hinata hesitantly stepped forward, her hands wrung in anxious concern. "May we visit him?" Tsunade shook her head.

"Not everyone. I will let you and Sakura stay by his side, but everyone else must visit in shifts of 2s every hour. I warn you though he will not bounce back from this like he does physical injuries. It is his mind and emotions that have been hurt. He will be here for several days, maybe longer. If ANYONE-" She stared at Hinata in particular. "-interrupts his rest then no one will be allowed at his side. Is this understood?" everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good, now register with the nurse for visiting appointments. Hinata, it is ok for you to enter now, but stay quiet and do not bug Sakura or any of the medics who come in." Hinata nodded eagerly and rushed into the room, silently closing the door behind her. The group moved off and fought over who would get to see the blond first. Tsunade smiled fondly at the long line of friends the boy had and spoke to a nurse with some instructions for his treatment. She left the hospital to find Kakashi and Ibiki falling in quietly on either side of her.

"Well?"

"The Uchiha was most informative. He held nothing back and told us a great deal." Ibiki said.

"I assigned Rotaro-san to keep watch over him." Kakashi added. "He will most likely move back into the Uchiha compound. I advised him to find something closer to the heart of the city however. He would be alone out there, should Madara come calling for him. Any help might get there too late." Tsunade kept walking and looked over to the masked Jounin.

"Can we really trust him?" She asked. Kakashi nodded.

"I think so. There was too much strange behavior in his actions that lead me to believe that he always intended to try and return here at some point in time. Besides with the curse seal he really didn't have much of a choice but to go after Orochimaru. It was either that or risk dying or becoming chakra handicapped."

"I agree." Ibiki said. "The boy's story is very clean and reasonable. Not too reasonable or it would be suspect, but from everything we knew and what he said It is kind of like he voluntarily left to be a double agent. If we need to, that can be the story to tell the citizens should too many questions be asked.

"Very well. Ibiki, make sure that ANBU is fully informed of the situation and to keep a sharp eye out. Kakashi I want you to begin to work on a defensive plan to protect him. From what Naruto told us, Madara will come after Sasuke's eyes sooner or later. If he comes himself then the seals that Naruto placed in the village should allow us to defeat him, however he will most likely send a strike team. Make something work and have it submitted within three days. Now leave me." The two men nodded and went their separate ways.

-

Hinata jerked awake from a bad dream she was having. Wearily she wiped her eyes and remembered that she was in the hospital at Naruto's side. The room was dark except for the pale glow of the monitors softly beeping again and again. Those beeps were soothing however. They assured her that her boy-friend was alright. Sakura had gone home for the night and Hinata was there alone. Earlier her father came by with Hanabi to pay their respects and he urged her to go home and come back the next day. She steadfastly refused and he soon gave up.

The room was full of flowers. It was an endless parade of visitors all day long. Shino's visit wasn't the best however. He told her that Kiba refused to come while she was there. He didn't understand why and tried to press her for the details of what happened between the two, but she refused to say anything. She was thankful that Kiba didn't tell him anything, but she was absolutely sure that Kurenai-sensei knew however. The older Jounin looked at her in shame and concern and asked to speak with her in private. Hinata was able to dodge the talk, but could tell what it would have been about just with the look in her eyes. She wanted to kill Kiba for telling their sensei about this. Kurenai-sensei was pregnant and didn't need to deal with that so soon after losing Asuma. She really did not want to start thinking about the ally and what she tried to do so she shoved it out of her mind and instead concentrated on Naruto's face.

Even when sleeping he seemed sad. A moon beam fell across his mouth highlighting the frown that lit his features. She reached out and tucked a stray lock of his hair that had fallen over his forehead.

"We will get through this Naruto…" She wasn't sure exactly which situation she meant. Their lives had been a roller-coaster the past several weeks. One attack and crisis after another seemed to fall on them. Their lives were moving so fast neither had much time to settle down and think about everything. A face reared up in her mind. An orange spiraled mask and a hideous red eye. She shuddered and forced the mental image away.

Hinata looked at the window and got up to look outside. The village seemed calm despite all the trouble the past 24 hours. A few lights were lit and she could make out a few of the night life citizens hanging out around the bars_. 'I wonder what it's like.'_ She thought. _'Not to be a ninja and just to live a regular life. No fighting over death all the time.'_

"Very boring I would expect." Hinata squeaked and jumped about a foot in the air she twisted around to see her sensei in the doorway. She placed a hand over her racing heart and took deep breaths to calm herself.

"S-Sensei! You frightened me." Hinata said softly. Kurenai just smiled a bit and looked over at Naruto.

"I'm sorry. I expected you to notice me. How is he doing?" Hinata sighed and went back to her chair and took his hand.

"The same. They have him sedated at the moment. They are going to start to wake him up slowly tomorrow." The room was silent for a moment and Kurenai walked closer to the Hyuuga.

"Do you really want that Hinata?" her sensei asked. She grew nervous and looked away.

"Of-of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"You tell me Hinata. Kiba told me what happened in the ally today."

Hinata blushed a deep red and hung her head, trying to bury herself in her coat.

"I-I don't know what you mean S-Sensei."

"You have never lied before Hinata. You shouldn't start. You aren't very good." The genjutsu user gingerly took a seat in an empty chair, her hand delicately over her bulging stomach. Hinata started to get annoyed and started to feel the same urge return whenever she got angry lately.

"W-With all do re-respect sensei. It is my own affair." She protested.

"You tried to sleep with a team mate Hinata. It is very out of character for you. So I'd say that it is my affair when your actions threaten to cause a rift in the group." Neither of them noticed a certain blonds' eyes that were open very slightly. They didn't hear his breathing pick up faster or the frown that deepened on his mouth.

Hinata didn't reply. She had no words to rebuke the Jounin instructor.

"Well?" Kurenai pressed on. "There is obviously something going on. Obviously something is wrong Hinata."

"I-I-I…" She couldn't get the words out correctly. Didn't want to say the words correctly. Her mind worked franticly to come up with something, anything but the truth. "I don't want to talk about it." She finally replied.

"And what about Naruto? Kiba is torn between loyalty towards you and telling him."

"No!" Hinata yelled and then winced and lowered her voice. "He can't! Oh sensei he just can't! Naruto-kun would never understand and I would just die if he broke up with me!"

"I am not feeling very sympathetic Hinata. My emotions are crazy right now with this baby and they keep bouncing around like a pin ball." Kurenai looked at the silver eyes that seemed to shimmer with unshed tears and finally gave in with a tired sigh.

"Hinata. You're obviously not recovered yet from your ordeal. You need to speak with someone about your feelings." She urged her student. Hinata just took on a stubborn expression, her timidity and worry gone in an instant. Yes a very troubled and different Hinata.

"No. I am fine. I do not need to talk to anyone about…that." She had to shudder and push that face out of her mind again. Kurenai noted the look of revulsion on the young woman's face and felt a great deal of pity, despite what she said earlier.

"Yes you do. If you don't then it will only get worse. It changed you Hinata. Everyone can see it and what happened with Kiba is only he beginning. If you try to ignore what happened you will probably lose Naruto all on your own without Kiba's help." Hinata still had that mulish look on her face and Kurenai ground her teeth in frustration. "Look-"

"No sensei. I just made a mistake today and it won't happen again. If Kiba or you whisper one word of this to Naruto then our friendship really will be finished and I will never speak to any of you again." Kurenai sighed again.

"Don't you see Hinata? Even this isn't you. You have become cold in some way. I know it had to be hard and what happened to you unimaginable, but you must talk about it to move past it."

"W-What happened to me is just another day in the life of a shinobi Kurenai-sensei. T-Thank You for your concern, b-but I am fine." Kurenai looked long and hard at the young woman. She saw what Kiba has talked about. The new timidness was an act. Most likely her way to keep the darkness at bay and try to regain some measure of herself. The girl was falling and she wouldn't reach for the rope. She shook her heard and left the room without saying a word.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and scowled at the fleeing form. "How dare she get into my personal life." She muttered softly. "It isn't her business with who I sleep with." She turned back to Naruto and her face softened and she took his hand back and stoked his cheek.

"But you're my love Naruto. And when you wake up, you can satisfy me again and I won't have to go looking for anyone else." She smiled and laid her head down on the bed to go to sleep. She didn't see the blue eyes peek open for a second to stare at her before closing again.

-

--

-

Sakura giggled at Sasuke who was walking beside her with an obviously irritated expression on his face. They made him wear a chunnin vest and sent him to the Academy his first day back.

"I am not good with kids." He said for the fifth time.

"You have never even worked with kids I bet." Sakura replied.

"Because I am not good with them. They are annoying."

"Oh lighten up already. If I remember right everything was annoying to you."

"I would rather be stuck watching the main gate than listen to the endless chatter of brats."

"Then scare them into shutting up so they listen." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and gave a slight nod. The advice had some merit. He tried to ignore the stares of the town's people and some of the shinobi that they passed. Some were relieved and excited and some were suspicious and spiteful. Still he carried himself with clan pride and head held high. He met a few of the more vocal villagers with a cold unblinking state that quickly shut them up.

"I don't see why I have to wear this silly vest." He said picking at the ugly green thing.

"Then don't. Take it off so I won't have to hear yet another complaint." Sakura fast running to the end of her rope with Sasuke's whining. He ignored her sarcastic tone.

"They made me wear the thing as part of my so called punishment."

"Oh rubbish. Kakashi just wanted to see if he could actually get you into one of those things. It isn't mandatory at all, just advised." Sakura had a slight smile on her face as she saw Sasuke's disbelieving stare out the corner of her eye. He wasted no time with the knowledge and quickly unstrapped and unbuckled the bulking green mass and tossed it up to the ANBU on a rooftop that had been tailing him since last night. The masked man started in surprise and barely caught the thing. He said something rather rude that neither could make out and threw the thing away. Sakura noted the smirk Sasuke held as he ruffled out his white shirt.

She did manage to get him to take off the insane rape around his waste and gave him a purple sash to wear instead. He tried to protest, but when she cut the rope in two no amount of words would help that, so it grudgingly put it on. She couldn't help but take a good look at him while they walked. He still had some bandages on from his fight yesterday morning with Naruto. She wasn't there, but she saw the field and heard some of the forces used when she was fighting Karin. He was still recovering well since there was no serious damage and posed a striking figure. He had grown taller and far more handsome in his late teens. She could now tell what he would look like as a full adult and she liked what she saw.

"I am surprised the dobe' isn't here to rub this in my face." Sasuke said interrupting her thoughts. She stopped suddenly in shock. He obviously didn't know. He turned back to her and noted the sad expression. "What is it?"

"Naruto is in the hospital right now." Sasuke raised a brow at the news.

"I was not aware that I had injured him so badly." He felt pleased at the idea that Naruto was hurt as well.

"It wasn't you!" Sakura snapped. She looked down and continued to walk, forcing him to move along side her. "His mother was killed yesterday morning by a woman named Konon, he went into a kind of mental breakdown and the Kyuubi almost escaped. He is being heavily sedated till he can cope with the trauma."

Sasuke looked stunned. "I did not know that." Never the less he resumed that cold callous face he always wore. "From what I was told before being sent here Konon was only supposed to lure Uzimaki Kushina away and not attempt to harm her at all." Sakura gasped and rounded on him.

"You knew?!" She clenched her first ready to punch him. He put his hands up in a calming gesture.

"I was not aware that she was in danger or I would not have fought Naruto. I would not wish anyone's mother to die. I can only imagine what it would feel like to have my mother returned to me only to die again. I assure you that I would have let Naruto know of the battle so he could have gone to her aid."

Sakura reluctantly unclenched her fist and continued at a brisk pace. Sasuke didn't seem fazed by her actions or attitude at all. He was a conundrum of attitudes. At times he was almost like when they were team mates and other times he spoke and acted like he did when they fought at Orochimaru's. Emotionless and arrogant. Like he was two different people struggling to become one and balance themselves. She didn't really like either she realized. She couldn't seem to recapture those feelings she used to have for him. He was a loved and cherished friend and she would die for him, but romantically the idea didn't appeal to her at all now.

She gave a wry sigh and wondered if she would ever find a guy that she liked and liked her back. Her mind went briefly to Naruto and quickly skirted away. That would be a disaster waiting to happen even if he was single and not taken by Hinata. He was totally clueless and she did need someone with a bit more flare and consideration. Her thoughts were pulling towards the grunts and yells of a bunch of children as they entered the Academy courtyard. She giggled as she saw Sasuke visibly stiffen and grind his teeth at the sound.

"You really need this apparently Sasuke." She told him. He turned to her with a frown and tilted his head.

"Why do you think that?" He asked.

"Because you obviously don't have much patience if you are already annoyed. It will be good for you. Think of it as training. You must infiltrate a camp of children and win them away from the vile teaching of their tyrannical masters!" She gave him s slap on the shoulder to match his scowl.

"Well I have been called many things in my time, but tyrannical isn't one of them!" A voice said off to the side. They both turned to see Iruka walking up to them. "So you are back eh Sasuke? And you're to be my assistant! Excellent." He was smiling, but his eyes betrayed his real emotions. Sakura and Sasuke could both tell that Iruka did not want him here at all and had probably advised against it. Sasuke was just about to open his mouth and say something when a young voice shouted for Sakura.

"Sakura-sama! Sakura-sama!" the Kunoichi looked past Iruka to see Hanabi and another dark haired boy running up to the trio. Sakura gave a smile and nodded at the students.

"Hanabi. Goro. How are you today?" She said. Goru was about to respond but Hanabi gushed her question out.

"How is Naruto-sensei?" She asked breathlessly. Sasuke arched a brow at the 'sensei' business.

"He was stable this morning Hanabi-san. He is still under heavy medication though and isn't very coherent." Hanabi looked crestfallen and wrung her hands.

"When can we talk to him? They were not allowing anyone to visit him this morning and I have to talk to him!"

"I don't know yet. That is up to Naruto and how well he is able to cope with his loss. I am sure whatever it is can wait till he is feeling better."

"But it can't!" The young Hyuuga said. "I must speak with him! He is the only one who can help!" Sakura and Iruka frowned at her odd behavior. Hanabi was usually very reserved and aloof. To see her this wound up, even for Naruto was very odd.

"What is wrong? Maybe we can help you." Iruka said with concern in his voice. Hanabi just pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No. Naruto-sensei is the only one." She stamped her foot and ran back to the class. Goro, who was silent during the whole exchanged just shrugged and left after her.

"Well that was odd." Iruka said after a moment. Sakura nodded in agreement, but Sasuke couldn't hold his tongue anymore.

"Naruto-sensei?" He asked. Sakura cringed a bit and Iruka laughed.

"Yeah." The instructor said. "She had her father press for Naruto to become her jounin instructor. No one is very sure Naruto is ready for that yet. He says he is and the Hokage agreed to let him have a team, but with what has happened lately, that may be revoked."

"I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to be trained by Naruto." Sasuke said doubtfully. "He has grown strong, but I'm not so sure he is smart enough or cautious enough to look after three kids." Sakura and Iruka had to laugh at this and both voiced their agreement.

"Anyways Sasuke." Iruka got down to business. "Follow me. I will show you to the class room. You will be teaching a second level class how to mold chakra." Sasuke huffed at the tedious task, but voiced no objections. Sakura bade the two a good day and promised to meet Sasuke later on at the hospital. He agreed to go see Naruto and she would be able to get him in to see the blond.

As they got close to the classroom the instructor turned to Sasuke for a moment and stopped in the hallway. "These kids you will be teaching are not like your class was. They aren't as advanced or show the potential that the rookie nine did. I expect you to show them some courtesy and patience. They will not get the basics down in a day. Also remember that the best in the class usually isn't the mold to compare the students to. Find the middle ground and someone slightly above that average to push those who are behind to do better. Show no favoritism and don't let them walk over you."

Sasuke nodded impatiently and Iruka lead him into the noisy classroom. The kids who were chatting ignored the entrance of the adults and kept up with their horse play. Iruka had to shout several times to get their attention and slowly the class got into order and returned to their proper seats. He cleared his voice and addressed them.

"Class, you will have a new instructor that will be taking over my duties for awhile. He is a very skilled Shinobi and I expect you all to show him the same respect that you show me." He waited for a response and saw several kids cringe in their seats and gulp. He looked back to see Sasuke leaning against the black board with a scowl and look of disgust on his face as he eyes the students. Iruka gritted his teeth, but did as the Hokage advised and gave Sasuke a free hand. He looked out a window to make sure his ANBU guard was watching outside.

"Very well I introduce you to Uchiha Sasuke. You will refer to him as Sasuke-sensei. Is this understood?" The class nodded quietly. He gave a nod to the Uchiha and whispered a good luck to him and left the room.

Sasuke walked towards the center of the room and surveyed his little kingdom. He did like the sound of the sensei business a great deal. As the silence extended one impetuous girl finally stood up and pointed at him.

"What's with that stare? You don't scare us!" The class started to laugh as the tension broke, but cut off abruptly when Sasuke was suddenly looming over the girl faster than their eyes could follow. The girl squeaked and fell back into her chair, her eyes wide with fright.

"Would you like to repeat that statement?" Sasuke asked quietly. Those black eyes boring into hers. She shook her quickly and gulped. He looked at her a moment longer until he was satisfied and strode back down the stairs towards the center of the room.

"As I 'HOPE' you are all aware Chakra is the life-force energy that runs through all living things. With it you can do almost anything you set your mind to. From moving at great speeds to jumping to far heights to even walking on water." He reached the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. With it he drew a vague picture of a body and made some lines moving through it.

"Chakra moves through special coils that run along your nerves and blood stream. Beginning now I will be attempting to teach you how to direct Chakra with your will. This is the most important basis for any Shinobi. Without chakra you can not fight and defeat your opponent. Without chakra you can not perform any jutsu or taijutsu adequately. Any questions so far?" He looked back and one boy raised his hand slightly.

"Yes?"

"How can we direct our chakra? If it is like your blood and we can't make that move how we want it to then how can we with chakra?" Sasuke already sighed at the stupidity of the group.

"Chakra is not like your blood. It just runs of similar paths. You will always have an abundance of excess chakra that your body does not use to stay alive. I will show you how to harness that energy through the use of body stances and hand seals. Hand seals automatically mold your chakra for you in the pattern you need, it is up to your will power to push and direct your chakra how you want it. Now attend and watch." The group paid vast attention to their scary instructor and hung on every word.

Outside the room Iruka watched from the door window till he was satisfied and then headed back to his own class that was probably out of control or already scattered across the city. 'They get younger and better all the time.' He thought as he entered the courtyard once more. He growled and yelled out at the scene.

"Goro! Get off him! Santo! Wake up!" He continued to scream orders and instructions, attempting to get his own class under control. He was starting to wish he had it in his heart to be as cold as Sasuke so he could scare them into order. Through the chaos he never noticed that Hanabi was no where in the yard.

-

--

-

Hanabi crept through the hallways. The floor was deserted thanks to the precautions of keeping Naruto separated from the general patients. They couldn't take the chance of a tailed form hurting people just by the release of its chakra. Hanabi was not aware of this however. She just counted herself lucky that the floor was empty. She needed to speak to Naruto-sensei right away. She had tried to talk to Nejii and her father, but both were dense as far as she was concerned. They refused to believe that a Hyuuga could be having emotional problems and dismissed her as a child with flights of fancy. Naruto was her only option left.

She peeked around the corner into Naruto's hallway. She didn't see anyone, but she couldn't be sure. Concentrating her chakra into her eyes she released her Doujutsu and scanned the area. She was soon glad that she did. Naruto's room held two other people in it. She could tell it was her sister and Sakura. They could be in there for hours Hanabi realized and ran through a list of options she had. One way or another she had to get her sister out of the room for awhile. Thankfully she got a positively marvelous idea in her mind. One she thought would be perfect. Instead of skulking she walked confidently down the hall, betraying the flutters in the pit of her stomach. She reached the door and knocked softly, dispelling her Byakugan. She heard foot steps from the room and the door swung open to reveal a surprised Sakura.

"Hanabi." Sakura said scornfully. "I told you that you are not allowed in here. Whatever it is, you must wait until he is feeling better." They both knew who she was talking about.

"I am sorry Sakura-sama, but my father has requested Hinata-chan's presence at once. I was told to come immediately." She licked her lips a bit and tried to appear contrite. Sakura dropped her voice even lower so that Hinata wouldn't overhear.

"Is that so? So your father went past the hospital to the academy to get you out of class just to come all the way back here to tell Hinata to meet him?" She arched a brow. Hanabi went pale. She hadn't considered that. She saw that Sakura noted her reaction and nodded, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"H-Hai. Sakura-sama. He could not waste time here and had to prepare for a personal clan matter. He sent a messenger to deliver the request to me." She hoped that would work.

"Yes again the message to you rather than here at the hospital. I am sorry Hanabi, but you can not see him yet." She started to close the door.

"No!" her voice rose a bit and winced, but it stayed Sakura's hand a bit. "Please." She lowered her voice to the barest whisper. "Something is wrong with my sister. Naruto-sensei would do anything for her. He would put aside his own grief to help her. I can't tell him while she is there. Oh please help me! Please let me in!" She almost went to her knees begging the powerful medic so hard. Sakura hesitated and looked over her shoulder at Hinata who was still sitting by Naruto's side, oblivious to everything around her. She looked back and studied the beseeching young Hyuuga girl. It was against her better judgment, but she too had noticed that something was off with Hinata. She gave a slight nod and a wink to Hanabi and stepped aside to let her in the room.

Hanabi almost leapt for joy, but wisely restrained herself. She stepped quietly into the stark white room. She almost cried at seeing the despairing state her idol was in. Naruto was sitting up in bed staring up at the ceiling. His eyes lost in some dark thought, looking for all the world like he wished he were dead. It was heart-breaking to see the once powerful ninja reduced to something like this. She prayed that when all this passed she would never see it again.

"Ane-san…"She said softly looking at her big sister who was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Hinata swiveled her heard and looked at Hanabi in surprise. She smiled pleasantly for her.

"Imouto-san. Thank you for coming to visit. It means a lot to Naruto-kun." She smiled and looked back at the blond fondly. Hanabi struggled to work up the nerve for her plan. If Hinata ever found out it would forever cause a rift that had only recently been healed.

"I am sorry to disturb you in your time of grief." She figured it would be best to be formal when delivering a fake message. "But father requests your presence immediately." It wasn't exactly a lie. She had heard their father remark about Hinata's late night vigil with the Naruto boy. Hopefully she would be lucky and he would mistakenly cover for her when Hinata arrived without being summoned. Hinata looked startled and then stubborn.

"I am sorry Hanabi, but I must stay by his side like he did mine. He needs me."

"I understand Imouto-san, but he was insistent that you take some time away from the hospital to see him. I am sure it won't take long. I would be willing to wait by his side until you return." She tried to purse her lips to look the part of an imperious messenger. Hinata bit her lip, torn between family and love. Thankfully Sakura decided to aid Hanabi in her little deceit.

"I am sure it will be fine Hinata. You should go, if only to get some fresh air."

"B-but-"

"It's ok Hinata." Sakura said. "It really is. Go to your father. Your family needs you as well."

Hinata thought about it for a bit and sighed, giving in. Hanabi's heart skipped a beat that she was successful in her plan. Now the hard part came she knew. Getting Naruto-sensei out of his stupor to help his girl friend. Hinata picked up her brown coat and slung it over her arm. She hadn't changed since yesterday morning. Sakura put a hand on her arm to stop her for a moment and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"While you are at home, why don't you freshen up and change into a nice kimono. Naruto always said that he liked seeing you in them." Hinata brightened at the idea.

"Hai! That is a good idea. Thank you!" She grinned and raced out of the room, much to Hanabi's relief. Sakura however turned to the young student with a steely glare.

"Ok Hanabi. I helped you in your little plot, but this had better be worth it." Hanabi looked between the Kunoichi and Naruto uncertainly. Sakura just shook her head.

"Uh uh. I am staying. You involved me in this and Hinata is my friend to." She tapped her foot impatiently and motioned with her head towards the despairing jounin. Hanabi gave a reluctant nod and walked over to Naruto and took his hand gently.

"Naruto-sensei?" She said gently. "It's me Hanabi." No response. He just kept looking up at the ceiling.

"Don't expect much Hanabi." Sakura said. "He is on some heavy sedatives still. It isn't very lucid at the moment. Hanabi firmed up her resolve and gave Naruto a little shake.

"Naruto-sensei. It's Hanabi. Please look at me. I need your help. Hinata needs your help." She waited a moment and repeated her words. Slowly he turned his head and those lost blue eyes met hers finally. She smiled slightly.

"Go away…" He said in a broken and uncaring voice. Both girls winced a bit, but Sakura was happy that he gave some acknowledgement for the first time since this morning.

"I can't. I know your hurting right now sensei." Hanabi pressed on. "But Hinata really does need your help. You see there is something wrong with her. Something in her mind. You're the only one that can help her." Naruto blinked a couple of times and took some breaths.

"What do you mean Hanabi?" Sakura smiled from the corner, happy that the young Hyuuga was having such a positive affect on the blond.

"I-I saw her bathing yesterday. Something was wrong though. She just kept scrubbing at her skin till it was bleeding. Then she started to cry really bad and saying how disgusting and dirty she was." Sakura stood straighter and frowned immediately. She had heard of cases like this and it was never good to treat. She took a few steps to stand on the other side of the bed and looked with concern at the pretty silver eyed girl.

"Hanabi." She said. "Have you seen anything else or heard her say anything that she normally wouldn't?" She asked. Hanabi just shook her head.

"I'm sorry Sakura-sama, but that is the only time, but Hinata has never been that bad!" She looked back at Naruto, who resumed his staring. "Please sensei. You have to talk to her and help her!" She pleaded with her eyes and soul at him.

"No." The two girls gasped at his words. Naruto never just abandoned friends. Especially Hinata, no matter the circumstances.

"Naruto…" Sakura said putting her hand on his, which he snatched away.

"Leave me alone. Everyone just leave me alone." Hanabi started to cry and opened her mouth, but a hand from Sakura stopped her. With a slight shake of her head she walked around and took the girl by her shoulder and started to lead her away.

"Sakura." Naruto said. The two kunoichi stopped and turned around to look at him. He was still staring up at the ceiling as he spoke to her.

"I don't want Hinata in here anymore." Hanabi and Sakura both widened their eyes at this request. Hanabi knew she was going to be in big trouble. All her hopes and plans failed, she misplaced her trust in her once-future sensei. She really didn't want him to lead her anymore.

"But why Naruto?" The pink haired medic asked.

"Ask Kiba or Kurenai" He returned and rolled over facing his back to them and hugged his pillow. "I'm sure they will be happy to tell you. Now go away."

"Naru-" Hanabi started to say, but a snap of his voice and a flare of some kind of vile feeling chakra stopped her. Suddenly from behind the curtain on the other side of the room a man she didn't even know was there peeked out and looked at the blond for a moment. Hanabi looked back at Naruto and saw that he was moaning and some weird red aura started to envelope him. A feeling of impending destruction started to wash over her and she fell to her knees as the evil wave of intent. Sweat poured from her body and she started to shake in uncontrollable fear. She barely registered the man behind the curtains flinging them open and clasping his hands together. She would vaguely remember the wooden beams that suddenly came up from the ground and she would forget all together how Sakura picked her up and took her quickly out of the hospital. She would, however, remember all through her life that horrible feeling that washed over her in that room. She would always be careful never to anger Naruto ever again.

When she finally came to her senses she was outside and Sakura had a hand on her forehead.

"Are you ok Hanabi-san?" She asked pensively. The Hyuuga just nodded absently, trying to wrap her mind around that dreadful encounter.

"What was that Sakura-sama? It felt awful."

"It was just a side affect of his feelings. Sometimes when a person is in a real dark place their chakra can take on their feelings. Right now Naruto feels really bad and probably doesn't care if anyone else feels bad either."

"But what was that red chakra? That isn't normal. I have never seen red chakra before." Sakura slapped her playfully on the back of the head.

"That isn't any of your business. Everyone has their secrets and you don't need to know all of Naruto's. Lets just say it's a weapon he has that went out of control ok?" Hanabi looked at the medic doubtfully but nodded anyways.

"He will be ok won't he?"

"Yes he will be fine. We are equipped to deal with this. Now run along home. Your class is almost over anyways."

"Oh no!" Hanabi suddenly explained.

"What's wrong now?"

"Naruto-sensei doesn't want to see my sister any more! She will blame me!" Hanabi looked frantic and on the verge of a full panic. Sakura nodded sadly.

"Yes that is probably true. You still did the right thing however; you just brought it to the wrong person."

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked.

"Well couldn't you have brought the problem to your father?" Hanabi shook her head. "Then you could have come to me or the Hokage. In fact you should have."

"But I didn't think he would act that way!" She protested. Sakura stood back up for a moment and put her hand on her chin to think.

"Yes. That is odd. Naruto would always climb out of any depression he was ever in to help a friend. I'm afraid all we can do right now is just deal with the fall out. You should bring it up to your sister however, when she confronts you about all this. She should know what you saw Hanabi."

"Oh no I couldn't do that. That would be considered very rude in the clan, what I did."

"Well screw the clan rule I saw. What you described is a symptom of a woman struggling mentally with a rather…delicate trauma. I think the genjutsu that she went through recently that almost killed her took more of a toll on her than anyone thought. She has been hiding it well, but she needs help. No one can make her get this help, but you should let her know that there are women and friends who know what she has been through and can help."

"Have you been through whatever it was she went through Sakura-sama?" Hanabi asked. Sakura hesitated a moment and Hanabi saw her eyes go haunted and her body shiver. 'What in the world happened to Hinata if it would make Sakura look like that?' Hanabi thought.

"Yes. I have. Sometimes missions don't go the way you want them to and bad things can happen before your team-mates can get there. You're too young to know what I am talking about and hopefully you never will. I have to get back to Naruto now. Remember what I said. Tell Hinata what you saw and how you felt. Tell her there is help and people who understand."

Hanabi nodded and watched as Sakura ran back into the hospital. She looked around quickly and headed back home. Oh she was going to catch hell from her sister over this.

-

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-

Hanabi saw her coming minutes ahead of time. When she got home she tried to enlist her father's aid, but he had not really listened and just said that if she interfered with another's love life then she had to deal with the consequences on her own. She hid in her room, but knew that would not stop Hinata from finding her. She could see the rage in her sister's movements from the time she turned the corner in the street till she ran through the front gates. Her feet slamming on the ground hard and the reckless steps she took. Her arms pumping far too much and the occasional shake of her head, like she was trying to dispel tears. She cringed and backed up to the wall as Hinata got closer and closer. She could see Hinata watching her as she ran down the hall ways, both watching each other with the Byakugan. Finally Hinata literally kicked away the door to the room, making Hanabi flinch and give a slight squeal.

"You…you…" Hinata was breathing heavily. Her eyes wide and livid, tears had streaked the make-up she had put on for Naruto and her nice lavender Kimono was torn in her haste to get home. Hanabi gulped and felt her lower lip tremble. She had never seen her sister look like this before. Her sister never got angry. Ever. She didn't even know the first thing to say. Not that she would get much of a chance to say anything in the next few seconds anyway. Hinata rushed at Hanabi, faster than the girl could follow and slammed her against the wall.

"You think you're clever don't you?" She was shaking her roughly by the shoulders. "What did you do?! What did you say to him?!" Hinata shook her harder and harder. Hanabi started to cry and babbly nonsense while shaking her head in denial.

"You had no right! No right talking to him! What did you do?" Hinata gave her another rough shove that tore the shoulder of the young girl's kimono. She hit her head on the wall, but barely acknowledged the pain in her terror. "What did you say to him?"

_**-SLAP!-**_

"Answer me!"

_**-SLAP!- **_

"Answer me!"

Hanabi warded off a third blow and babbled her story out.

"I just asked him to help you!" She sobbed out. She felt herself lifted up to Hinata's face and she was staring into those maddened eyes.

"What do you mean 'help me'?" Her sister snarled, spittle coming out of her mouth.

"I-I-I saw you in the bathing room! I-I saw you scrubbing so hard that you started to bleed!" She choked out the words. Hinata dropped her she was so stunned. Hanabi ran to her sister and enveloped her in a tight hug around the waist and cried into her stomach.

"I was so scared and so worried about you! I didn't know who to go to! Naruto-sensei is so nice and loves you so much I thought he could help you! P-Please don't be mad! P-Please don't be!" Hanabi just sobbed and sobbed. Pouring her essence into her tears. Desperate to get through to her sister.

Hinata laid a hand on her head and pulled her away from and her knelt down. She looked frightened now rather than enraged and slightly hopeful.

"You-You saw that?" Hinata asked. Hanabi nodded slightly, sniffling through her torrent of tears.

"What…" Hinata gulped and changed her words. "You told him all that?" She gave another nod and the older Hyuuga bit her lip.

"What did he say?"

Hanabi started to cry again as she explained. "He said he didn't want to help you or see you again! He said to talk to your team mate Kiba or your sensei if we wanted to know." Hinata gave soft cry and stricken look. She sat down heavily and brought her hand to her mouth. Her eyes going wide with pain and horror.

"Oh no…" She said softly. "He was awake. He heard everything." Hinata brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. She buried her face behind them and started to cry hysterically. Hanabi didn't know what to do. She could tell from the tone in her sister's voice that something had gone wrong. She quickly ran out of the room to get help.

Hinata was stricken as she sat there. She knew that no one else could have told Naruto what had happened. She had been with him the entire time he was at the hospital. He had to have been awake and heard her conversation with Kurenai-sensei. Years she had waited for him. Years she had stayed in the shadows admiring him and loving him from afar. Finally all her dreams had come true. He fell in love with her back. Her father had accepted him. She had lain in his arms and she had become more confident. All her wished for one brief moment in time. And she had just lost it all.

She felt empty. Like something was missing from her stomach. Like something she hadn't known was there and so important had just dropped out of her. It hurt. It hurt more than anything she had ever felt before. She didn't even see or feel her father and Nejii enter the room and try to get her attention. Her father lifted her up and started to carry her back to her rooms. She clasped her arms around his neck automatically and continued to cry into his shoulder.

Hiashi carried his older daughter into her lavender covered room and laid her on the bed. He wasn't sure how to deal with something this. It was very unbecoming an heir of the Hyuuga clan. He wasn't without sympathy or desire to help his daughter however. He just didn't know what to say. He was not exactly an emotional man and had a hard time grasping them in others. He looked to his confused nephew for some support or ideas. Nejii responded with a shrug. Just as confused as his Uncle was. Maybe her sensei would be able to help. He turned to Hanabi.

"Daughter. Go find her jounin instructor. Her name is Yuuhi Kurenai. Bring her here."

"I don't know where she lives father." His daughter said. He frowned and looked to Nejii. The man nodded and took Hanabi and they left quickly to bring the jounin here. Hiashi tried to help as best he could, but all his daughter did was curl up in a fetal position and cry while hugging her pillow tightly. He wasn't even aware that the human body could hold that many tears. A servant stopped by to ask if he needed anything and he ordered the man to bring some warm sake' immediately. He dismissed the man and took some covers and pulled them over his daughter.

It took about twenty minutes for Kurenai to arrive. He was about to berate her, till he saw her swollen belly and realized that she was with child. He had managed a couple cups of the sake' down Hinata's thought and it eventually calmed her enough so that she was no longer hysterical. She just hugged her pillow and cried silently. Kurenai entered the room and summed up everything with a glance. The men and Hanabi quickly left the room and closed the door to give the two some privacy.

Kurenai walked over and sat on the bed and laid a hand on her student's leg.

"Hinata…" She said softly. The Hyuuga sniffled and opened her eyes to see her sensei at her side.

"Oh sensei!" he cried and sat up to hug the woman. Kurenai held her tightly and rocked her a bit. It was easy to forget that a sixteen year old girl was still a girl and needed some babying every now and then. Shinobi or not. "I've ruined everything." She hiccupped into the genjutsu user's ear. "He heard us talking! He knows what I did!"

Kurenai pursed her lips and closed her eyes over the problem. And a problem it was indeed. Hinata always held a very special place in her heart and she knew that the girl derived much of her strength and confidence from Naruto. If he refused to have anything to do with the girl now, as most men were apt to do after something like this, then the past four years would all be waste and the girl would be worse off than when she had graduated the academy. She would be a broken soul for years probably. She had to help the young girl fix this.

She pried her student off of her and tilted up her chin so she could see her puffy red eyes. She reached out and wiped a few tears from Hinata's cheeks. "Now that's enough of that for the moment. Crying never fixes anything." She told her.

"But this can't be fixed! He hates me now! He told them that he never wanted to see me again!"

"Are you that is what he actually said?" Hinata looked at her blankly.

"Huh?"

"Well Hanabi told me a little bit on the way over and from what she said he just didn't want to see you while he is in the hospital."

"But that's the same thing!"

"No. It's not. This is your first relationship Hinata. Only puppy love falls apart from the first bump in the road. Is this puppy love Hinata or do you really love him?"

"I really really love him!" She said, her lower lip trembling once again. She wished it would stop doing that.

"Well then you settle whatever the bump is and then try to fix the relationship." Kurenai said and tapped the flushed red nose with her finger. Hinata sniffled and wiped her Kimono across her face in a very un-lady-like fashion.

"B-But I don't know how to fix it!"

"Well I can help you with that. But listen closely Hinata." She paused and saw that she had her student's undivided attention more than she ever had before. "Naruto is a very kind soul. He just lost his mother after only having her for a little over a month. That's probably the hardest blow someone can take. Then on top of that he finds out that you were less than discrete with Kiba while he was going through these problems. Let's face it Hinata. Last night your words and actions didn't make you sound very caring and loving towards him."

Hinata hung her head in shame and new tears threatened to over come her once more.

"I-I know." She whispered so softly that the jounin almost didn't hear it.

"Then if you want to fix this. You are going to have to make some sacrifices. You are going to have to do things that you don't want to do. Can you do that Hinata? If the chance was there to earn him back would you go for it?" Hinata nodded vigorously. Her eyes alight with hope and clasped her hands together in a prayer almost.

"Oh yes Sensei! I'd do anything!" Kurenai smiled and nodded, very satisfied with the words.

"Then you will have to go to the Hokage and ask to speak with a medic to help you with your problems." She smiled gently but the smile faded as she saw the look on her students face. It was flat and emotionless. It was like in one second all of her emotions had been pushed aside leaving her completely empty.

"I have no problems to talk about." Hinata said.

"Yes. You do."

"You are mistaken sensei."

"Then you have lost Naruto. And you will remain alone." The words were carefully calculated to break that stone wall around Hinata. She saw it chisel just a bit, but the girl tried futilely to repair it.

"There must be another way." She said. Kurenai just shook her head.

"You gave your word that you would sacrifice anything to get him back. I thought you shared the same nindo as Naruto?" That did the trick very nicely. The wall fell like a mudslide and the mask became a doubtful and scared face once more.

"I-I can't talk about it."

"I think you can. It would be harder to talk about it with a friend. I don't know exactly what you went through, but I can guess from your actions. This kind of stuff is easier to share with a stranger I am told. Someone you won't see very often. Hinata are you afraid your friends will treat you differently if they know?" The girl couldn't raise her head, she just continued to look down and poke her fingers together rapidly.

"I thought so. Then yes you should speak to a stranger. Someone who specializes in this and really understands you. If you can do that then you can get Naruto back." She took Hinata's hands. "He isn't so callous as to ever forget about you. I've known some men like Naruto in my life-time and I promise you, he feels every bit as bad as you do and is already missing you. Right now however he just can't cope with your needs and can't help you. He has given a lot for this village and for you. Let's give him something back for once. And that something will be space. Ok?"

Hinata let the words of her sensei soak into her and she brooded over it. She didn't want to talk to anyone at all, but she really would do anything to get back her Naruto-kun and the idea of talking with a stranger she would never be friends with did sound a little easier. Reluctantly she looked back up into the eyes of her captain and gave a weak smile.

"H-Hai Kurenai-sensei!"

"Good. I will come by tomorrow morning and take you to see someone. In the mean time don't go near Naruto unless he asks for you." She got up to leave and Hinata escorted her to the front doors. Kurenai paused at the threshold and spoke once more to those puffy silver eyes.

"And one more thing. You really should apologize to your little sister. She was really worried and none of this is her fault. Ok?" Hinata gave a small nod and Kurenai reached out and stroked her cheek with a finger. "We'll get everything worked out. You will see." The door closed and Hinata skulked back to get room. Hanabi had watched everything with her Byakugan. It was considered dreadfully rude to use it inside the compound, but she didn't care at this point. She could tell that some good had been done and she smiled. She flopped back down on her bed and smiled.

-

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-

* * *

**A/N**

What a pain in the ass chapter to write and it still isn't the way I wanted it to be. I tried for an emotional chapter but got the feeling I failed big time. Well time will tell. I hope you enjoyed it, despite my dislike of it.

The next update wont be for awhile. I am going to be gone for the weekend and most of the week so can't begin on the next installment. I am also starting to develope a nasty case of writers block, but hopefully time away from the screen will fix that.

**Imouto-san** refer to little sister  
**Ane-san** refers to big sister.


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